REPORTS 


MASSACHUSETTS    COMMISSIONEES 


EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA, 

18  7  3. 

'  WITH 

SPECIAL  REPORTS    PREPARED  EOR  THE  COMMISSION. 


EDITED    BY 

HAMILTON    A.    HILL, 

Associate  Commissionek. 


BOSTON : 

WRIGHT    &    POTTER,    STATE    PRINTERS, 
79  Milk  Street  (corner  of  Federal,). 

1875. 


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Comniissioners  for  State  of  Massachusetts. 


Chaipman: 
CHARLES    FRANCIS    ADAMS,    Jr.,    Esq. 


Associate  Commissioners : 
Hon.    H.    G.    KNIGHT.  HAMILTON   A.    HILL,  Esq. 


Secretary : 
Mr.    FRANK    D.    MILLETT. 


Special  Commissioner  for  Bducation: 
Mr.    JOHN    D.    PHILBRICK. 


Honorary  Commissioners: 


Col.  HARRISON  RITCHIE. 
Col.  THEODORE   LYMAN. 
HENRY  P.  KIDDER,  Esq. 
H.  A.  HIGGINSON,  Esq. 
S.  D.  WARREN,  Esq. 
CHARLES  AMORY,  Esq. 
ADAMS  AYER,  Esq. 
EDWARD  MAYNZ,  Esq. 


AMOS  G.  WOOD,  Esq. 
BAXTER  D.  WHITNEY,  Esq. 
JOHN  D.  AVERY,  Esq. 
Col.  EDWARD  T.  ROWELL. 
Mr.  august  SCHLESINGER. 
Mr.  GEORGE  W.  SIMMONS. 
Mr.  ELMER  P.  HOWE. 
Rev.  PLINY  WOOD. 


PREFACE. 


By  a  Kesolve  passed  at  the  last  day  of  the  session  of 
1874,  the  Legislature  authorized  the  Massachusetts  Com- 
missioners to  the  Exposition  at  Vienna  to  print  a  volume 
of  reports  collected  by  them  relating  to  that  Exposition. 

Some  time  was  unavoidably  spent  in  getting  together 
articles  not  at  that  time  entirely  completed,  and  also  in 
preparing  the  necessary  cuts ;  but  the  work  has  been 
pushed  on  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  is  herewith  presented. 

It  is  believed  the  articles  which  follow,  on  special  topics, 
will  compare  favorably  with  most  of  this  class  of  literature, 
and  will  be  read  with  interest.  If  they  do  something  to 
stimulate  further  perfection  in  the  manufactures  in  which 
we  already  excel,  or  to  add  to  our  taste  for  art,  in  which 
we  are  far  behind  foreign  countries,  then  the  Commission 
will  not  have  been  sent  out  in  vain.  It  is  hoped  they  will 
do  both. 

,  H.  A.  HILL. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

General  Keport  of  Chaeles  Francis  Adams,  Jr.,  CMef  Commissioner,    .  5 

"           "             Hamilton  A.  Hill,  Associate  Commissioner,         .        .  54 

"            "             H.  G.  Knight,  Associate  Commissioner,         ...  77 

Special  Eeport  of  Thomas  C.  Ajrcher,  on  Organization  of  International 

JExjposition  Commissions  and  Juries,     ....  86 

"            "              Louis  J.  Hinton,  on  Museums  of  Art  and  Industry,    .  100 

"            "              F.  D.  Millett,  Fine  Arts  of  the  Present  Time,       .        .  157 

"           "             William  P.  Blake,  Ceramic  Arts,        ....  216 

"           "             William  J.  Stillman,  Pliotograjiliy,    ....  355 

"           "             Nelson  L.  Derby,  on  Building  and  Architecture,         .  366 

"           "             John  Fretwell,  Jr.,  Hard  Vulcanized  Eiibber,  .        .  402 

"           "             H.  A.  Hill,  on  Machinery, 406 

"           "             Elmer  P.  Howe,  American  Ideas  in  European  Ma- 
chinery,   429 

"  "  EoBERT  B.  Lines,  Bailivay  Telegraphs  and  Electric 

Signals, 434 

"           "             Elmer  P.  Howe,  Bailivay  Sivitch  and  Signal  Apparatus,  491 

"  "  Francis  H.  Appleton,  Agricultural  Ohservations  in 

•      Europe  in  1873, 501 

"  "  Fred.  W.  Russell,  The  Use  of  Wine  and  Beer  at 

Vienna,  etc., 555 


EXPOSITION    AT   VIENNA-1873. 


EESOLYES 

Concerning  the  Universal  Exposition  at  Vienna. 

Besolved,  That  the  governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
council,  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  citizen  of  this  Commonwealth 
and  such  associates  as  may  be  necessary,  to  visit  the  Universal 
Exposition  at  Vienna,  to  assist  the  contributors  from  this  State,  to 
examine  the  various  industries,  manufactures  and  economies  which 
may  be  exhibited  or  presented,  and  to  report  thereon  to  the  legisla- 
ture of  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-four. 

Besolved,  That  there  be  appropriated,  to  be  paid  out  of  the 
treasury,  such  a  sum,  not  exceeding  twelve  thousand  dollars,  as  the 
governor  and  council  may  deem  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the 
provisions  of  the  foregoing  resolve. 

Besolved,  That  there  be  appropriated,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  treas- 
ury, a  sum  not  exceeding  three  thousand  dollars,  to  be  expended 
under  the  direction  of  the  governor  and  council,  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  in  the  proper  representation  at  the  Exposition  of  our  system 
of  education,  and  of  obtaining  therefrom  information  for  the  promo- 
tion of  our  educational  interests. 

Approved  March  3,  1873. 


LETTEE  OF  INSTKUCTION. 


COMMONWEALTH    OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 

Executive  Department,  Boston,  April  10th,  1873. 

My  Dear  Sir  : — The  duties  of  the  representatives  from  this  State 
to  the  Vienna  Exposition  are  specified  in  the  Resolve  authorizing 
their  appointment,  and  the  language  of  that  Resolve  is  quoted  in 
the  commissions  given  you  and  your  associates  under  the  seal  of 
the  Commonwealth.    The  general  direction  of  the  Commission  is 


4  LETTEE   OP   ENSTRUCTION. 

entrusted  to  your  discretion  and  judgment,  and  it  is  not  doubted 
tliat  you  will  find  your  associates  ready  to  accord  cheerful  coopera- 
tion, to  the  end  that  the  largest  and  most  valuable  results  may  be 
obtained.  The  Commission  will  be  expected  to  do  what  it  properly 
can  to  promote  the  interests  of  contributors  from  this  State  to  the 
Exposition,  and  afford  them  such  reasonable  assistance  as  may  be 
necessary  in  securing  opportunity  for  the  fair  display  and  examina- 
tion of  their  works.  The  appropriation  made  by  the  legislature  will 
be  subject  to  your  order  as  the  head  of  the  Commission,  and  no  bills 
for  expenses  incurred  will  be  allowed  except  such  as  have  your 
approval,  the  intent  of  the  governor  and  council  being  to  put  the 
financial  management  of  the  Commission  in  your  hands.  You  are 
expected  to  settle  the  reasonable  necessary  expenses  of  yourself 
and  the  associate  commissioners  now  in  this  country  in  going  to  and 
returning  from  Vienna  by  the  ordinary  and  most  feasible  route,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  associates  now  in  Europe  in  travelling  from 
points  not  further  distant  from  Vienna  than  Paris  or  Antwerp. 
You  are  also  expected  to  settle  the  reasonable  necessary  expenses 
of  yourself  and  associates  while  in  Vienna,  for  such  a  period  of 
time  as  you  may  judge  it  advisable  to  remain  there,  keeping  in  mind 
that  the  object  of  the  State  in  authorizing  the  Commission  is  speci- 
fically to  secure  practical  information  at  the  Exposition  for  the 
benefit  of  our  people.  Authority  is  given  you  to  employ  such 
assistance  in  Vienna  as  you  may  deem  it  advisable  to  procure  in 
carrying  out  this  object,  and  for  that  assistance  you  will  make  pay- 
ment at  a  fair  rate  of  compensation,  taking  receipts  that  may  be 
filed  with  your  accounts  as  vouchers.  And  of  all  matters  involving 
the  expenditure  of  money,  you  will  be  expected  to  render  an  account 
as  soon  as  possible  after  your  return. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  B.  WASHBURN, 

Governor  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Hon.  Chas.  Francis  Adams,  Jr.,  Boston,  Mass. 


EEPORT  OF  COMMISSIONER  ADAMS. 


As  Commissioner  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  appointed 
under  chapter  6  of  the  Resolves  of  1873,  to  visit  the  Univer- 
sal Exposition  at  Vienna,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the 
following  Report : — 

Under  the  first  section  of  the  Resolve  referred  to,  the  gov- 
ernor, with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  council,  was 
authorized  to  appoint  a  citizen  of  the  Commonwealth,  and 
such  associates  as  might  be  necessary,  to  visit  the  Universal 
Exposition  at  Vienna,  to  assist  the  contributors  from  the 
State,  to  examine  the  various  industries,  manufactures  and 
economies  which  might  be  exhibited  or  presented,  and  to 
report  thereon  to  the  legislature  of  1874.  A  sum  not  exceed- 
ing $12,000  was  appropriated  to  carry  into  effect  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Resolve ;  which  was  passed  and  received  the 
executive  approval  on  the  3d  of  March,  just  fifty-eight  days 
before  the  time  fixed  for  the  opening  of  the  Exposition. 
Upon  the  19th  of  the  same  month  the  nomination  of  the 
commissioner  was  made  and  approved  by  the  council,  and 
eight  days  later  Gen.  John  C.  Palfrey,  of  Lowell,  Hon.  H. 
G.  Knight,  of  Easthampton,  and  H.  A.  Hill,  Esq.,  of  Worces- 
ter, were  appointed  associate  commissioners,  with  Mr.  Frank 
D.  Millett  as  secretary.  A  number  of  other  gentlemen  were 
at  the  same  time  joined  to  the  Commission  in  a  purely  com- 
plimentary capacity. 

Of  the  gentlemen  designated  as  associate  commissioners, 
Messrs.  Knight  and  Hill  accepted  their  appointments,  but 
that  of  Gen.  Palfrey  was  declined  on  account  of  conflicting 
business  relations.     In  the  original  organization  of  the  Com- 


6  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

mission  it  had  been  supposed  that  Gen.  Palfrey  would  repre- 
sent the  largest  and  most  important  material  interest  of  the 
Commonwealth,  that  of  textile  fabrics.  His  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  these,  and  with  the  machinery  used  in  their  produc- 
tion, qualified  him  in  an  eminent  degree  to  render  service  of 
real  value.  For  this  and  other  reasons  his  inability  to  accept 
the  appointment  proved  in  the  event  a  thing  deeply  to  be 
regretted.  Of  the  other  gentlemen  appointed,  Mr.  Hill  only 
was  at  the  time  in  America.  Mr.  Knight  was  travelling  in 
Italy  and  Mr.  Millett  was  just  completing  his  studies  at  the 
School  of  Art  at  Antwerp. 

As  the  commissions  of  the  several  appointees  did  not  issue 
until  the  20th  of  March,  and  the  letter  of  instructions  drawn 
up  for  the  guidance  of  the  commissioner  was  dated  subse- 
quently to  that  time,  it  naturally  followed,  as  the  Exposition 
was  opened  upon  the  day  (May  1)  which  had  been  designated, 
that  before  arriving  on  the  ground  the  commissioners  had  no 
opportunity  to  confer  with  each  other.  They  could  not, 
therefore,  decide  upon  any  line  of  conduct,  nor  in  any  way 
organize  in  advance,  either  to  aid  the  Massachusetts  exposi- 
tors or  to  agree  upon  a  division  of  their  work.  In  point  of 
fact,  they  first  met  at  Vienna  several  weeks  after  the  Exposi- 
tion was  open  to  the  public,  and  about  the  time  that  the 
American  department  began  to  assume  an  appearance  of 
order. 

It  hardly  needs  to  be  said  that  this  was  a  most  unfortunate 
circumstance,  both  for  the  commission  itself  and  for  the 
expositors  from  Massachusetts  ;  but  under  the  circumstances 
it  could  not  be  avoided.  Where  men  who  are  to  act  together 
in  the  performance  of  somewhat  difficult  duties  in  a  foreign 
country  are  at  the  time  of  their  appointment,  immediately 
before  those  duties  are  to  commence,  both  personally  unknown 
to  each  other  and  scattered  over  two  continents,  it  is  not  easy 
to  concentrate  them  for  action.  Everything  was,  in  this  case, 
done  which  could  be  done.  Mr.  Millett  was  communicated 
with  and  went  immediately  to  Vienna,  under  instructions  to 
efiect  such  preliminary  arrangements  as  might  be  practicable. 
He  arrived  there  during  the  latter  part  of  April,  but  was 
obliged  to  return  to  Antwerp  before  the  1st  of  May,  necessarily 
having  accomplished  little,  if  anything.     He  was  unable  to  get 


REPOET   OF   ME.    ADAMS.  7 

back  to  Vienna  until  the  7th  of  May.  Mr.  Hill  and  myself 
sailed  from  America  on  the  13th  of  April.  Shortly  after 
landing  in  Europe,  I  heard  in  Paris  of  the  unfortunate  difficul- 
ties which  had  arisen  in  the  American  department  of  the  Ex- 
position, and  of  the  suspension  of  the  United  States  commis- 
sioners by  the  authorities  at  Washington.  Thereupon  I  at 
once  went  to  Vienna,  where  I  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the 
1st  of  May,  the  day  upon  which  the  formal  inaugurating  cere- 
monies had  taken  place.  I  immediately  put  my  own  services, 
and  those  of  the  other  gentlemen  composing  the  state  com- 
mission, at  the  disposal  of  the  American  Minister  and  of 
those  temporarily  in  charge  of  the  American  department,  and, 
the  occasion  seeming  to  be  one  of  a  somewhat  pressing 
nature,  applied  myself  to  the  work  of  obtaining  information 
as  to  the  whereabouts  of  my  colleagues.  Certainly  no  circum- 
stances could  well  have  arisen  in  which  a  well  organized  and 
self-possessed  state  commission  might  have  proved  of  greater 
service,  or  have  more  fully  justified  its  formation,  than  were 
then  presented.  The  condition  of  afiairs  in  the  American 
department  was  disgraceful,  ludicrous  and  mortifying.  The 
confusion  was  apparently  complete.  The  work  to  be  done 
was  neither  large  nor  difficult, — hardly  equalling,  indeed,  the 
arrangements  in  this  country  of  any  ordinary  Institute  display 
or  considerable  County  fair.  Had  any  state  commission  been 
upon  the  spot,  organized  in  advance,  understanding  itself  and 
knowing  both  what  ought  to  be  done  and  how  to  do  it,  the 
conduct  of  the  matter  must  inevitably  and  naturally  have 
fallen  into  its  hands.  The  difficulty  would  then  at  once  have 
disappeared.  Unfortunately,  so  far  as  the  bringing  about 
results  was  concerned,  the  Massachusetts  commission  was  in 
a  less  effective  state,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible,  even 
than  that  of  the  United  States.  Just  appointed  and  wholly 
unorganized,  its  members  scattered  over  Europe  and  in  no 
communication  with  each  other,  it  illustrated  with  singular 
happiness  the  ordinary  result  of  tardy  public  action.  When, 
therefore,  Mr.  Jay  and  the  gentlemen  temporarily  in  charge 
expressed  the  utmost  gratification  at  the  prospect  of  having 
some  organized  body  to  relieve  them  from  the  embarrassing 
position  in  which  they  found  themselves,  it  at  once  became 
evident  that  the  Massachusetts  commission  was  in  no  condi- 


8  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

tion  to  perform  that  service.  Before  it  could  be  made  so, 
even  through  the  most  energetic  telegraphing  and  correspond- 
ence, the  occasion,  fortunately  for  it,  had  passed  away.  While 
I  was  anxiously  looking  for  the  arrival  of  my  several  asso- 
ciates, the  appointment  of  Mr.  Jackson  S.  Schultz  as  United 
States  commissioner,  in  place  of  Gen.  Van  Buren,  was 
announced,  and  at  once  solved  ther  difficulty. 

In  regard  to  the  scandals  and  difficulties  which  gave  such 
an  unenviable  notoriety  to  the  American  department  during 
this  period  of  the  Exposition,  neither  my  associates  nor  my- 
self at  the  time  or  since  have  found  it  necessary  to  express, 
or  indeed  to  form,  any  opinion.  It  was  painfully  evident  that 
the  mismanagement  had  been  complete  from  the  beginning 
forward.  It  required  no  investigation  to  make  that  fact 
patent  to  any  one.  As  to  who  was  responsible  for  this  result, 
or  the  motives  which  actuated  them,  these  were  subjects  which 
it  was  wholly  unnecessary  for  us  to  pass  upon.  After  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Schultz,  therefore,  it  only  remained  for  us  to 
consider  maturely  why  we  had  been  sent  to  Vienna,  and,  hav- 
ing arrived  at  some  definite  conclusions  upon  that  subject,  to 
devote  ourselves  to  the  work  before  us. 

Mr.  Millett  returned  from  Antwerp,  and  reported  himself 
as  ready  to  assume  his  duties  as  secretary  on  the  7th  of  May. 
Mr.  Hill  arrived  upon  the  11th  of  the  same  month.  It  was 
not  until  the  24th  of  May  that  Mr.  Knight  found  himself  able 
to  reach  Vienna,  and  his  engagements  in  America  were  such 
that  he  was  unable  to  remain  there  after  the  26th  of  June. 
Consequently  the  commission  was  deprived  after  that  time  of 
his  assistance,  and  was  practically  reduced  to  Mr.  Hill,  Mr. 
Millett  and  myself.  An  office  was  secured  and  opened  on  the 
16th  of  May ;  from  which  time  until  the  8th  of  October  one 
or  more  of  the  commissioners  was-  in  constant  attendance  at 
it.  It  was  then  finally  closed  by  Mr.  Millett,  and  all  its  docu- 
ments and  records  forwarded  to  America.  I  had  previously 
left  Vienna  on  the  10th  of  August,  and  Mr.  Hill  had  followed 
on  the  1st  of  September.  Altogether  the  office  was  open  and 
the  commissioners  were  in  Vienna  during  five  months  of  the 
Exposition,  which  lasted  in  all  but  six  months. 

I  do  not  propose  to  enter  into  any  general,  historical,  de- 
scriptive or  statistical  report  of  the  Vienna  Exposition.     Upon 


REPORT   OF    MR.    ADAMS.  9 

all  these  matters  the  country  has  been  kept  so  very  fully 
informed  by  the  writers  for  the  public  press,  that  any  further 
details  as  regards  them  in  my  power  to  supply  would  seem  to 
be  quite  superfluous.  As,  however,  preparations  are  now 
making  for  the  American  Centennial  of  1876,  in  which  Massa- 
chusetts as  a  state  will  not  improbably  feel  obliged  to  take  a 
prominent  part,  I  shall  briefly  refer  to  a  few  points,  a  due 
consideration  of  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  may  save  us  from 
grave  mistakes.  It  is  true  that  Massachusetts  is  not  directly 
responsible  for  this  undertaking,  and  can  exercise  but  a  very 
limited  influence  in  its  direction.  But  if,  as  is  proposed,  it  is 
to  be  a  national  affair, — and  as  such  it  will  necessarily  be 
regarded  in  all  foreign  countries, — the  practical  questions 
connected  with  it  become  matters  of  moment  to  each  of  the 
several  states. 

As  a  universal  exposition,  that  of  Vienna  was  undoubtedly 
the  largest  and  most  ambitious  attempt  of  the  kind  which  has 
yet  been  made.  In  some  respects  it  was  a  most  brilliant  and 
gratifying  success  ;  in  others  it  cannot  but  be  considered  as  a 
very  lamentable  failure.  From  the  careful  study  of  it  in  each 
aspect,  many  useful  lessons  touching -the  coming  Centennial 
might  be  drawn.  Among  the  features  of  success  were  the 
structures  and  the  surrounding  grounds,  which  were  all  upon 
a  scale  of  unprecedented  magnitude.  Yet  magnificent  and 
imposing  as  respects  constructive  skill  and  the  space  covered 
*by  them  as  these  unquestionably  were,  the  buildings  can 
hardly  be  considered  as  having  been  well  adapted  to  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  were  designed.  They  were  laid  out  for 
their  proposed  occupants  on  the  geographical  plan :  that  is, 
taking  them  in  order,  the  visitor  passed  through  the  whole 
range  of  countries  as  they  occupy  the  surface  of  the  earth ;  the 
American  department  being  at  one'extremity  and  that  of  Eastern 
Asia  at  the  other.  This  is  an  admirable  arrangement  for  a 
bazaar,  in  which  the  largest  possible  sales  by  expositors  is  the 
single  end  in  view  ;  and  it  so  proved  in  this  case.  If,  however, 
an  exposition  building  is  designed,  not  as  a  general  sales-room 
of  the  world,  but  as  a  competitive  field  of  excellence,  a  worse 
arrangement  than  that  described  could  scarcely  be  devised. 
At  Vienna,  productions  of  the  same  nature  from  difFercnt 
countries  were  not  only  not  brought  into  contrast  and  com- 
2 


10  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

parison,  as  at  the  last  Paris  Exposition,  but  they  seemed 
to  be  so  placed  that  both  comparison  and  contrast  were 
impossible.  Not  only  a  guide,  but  a  very  experienced  and 
competent  guide, — one  who  had  made  a  special  study  of  a 
class  of  objects, — was  an  absolute  necessity  to  any  one  who 
sought  to  examine  all  that  the  Exposition  contained  of  objects 
of  that  class.  Both  morally  and  physically,  the  search  was 
made  as  wearisome  and  exhausting  as  was  possible.  The 
investigator  was  equally  oppressed  with  the  number  and 
variety-  of  the  exhibits  discovered,  and  by  the  distance 
traversed  in  the  journey  of  discovery.  The  method  of 
arrangement  thus  became  a  practical  matter,  detracting  most 
seriously  from  the  general  popularity  of  the  enterprise ;  for 
the  great  mass  of  those,  the  presence  of  whom  decides  the 
success  or  failure  of  such  undertakings, — the  travellers  and 
the  buyers, — are  brought  together  from  motives  of  curiosity 
or  in  search  of  amusement.  One  principal  object  always,  there- 
fore, to  be  kept  in  view  should  be  to  render  the  work  of  examin- 
ation as  little  fatiguing  as  possible.  At  Vienna  it  was  a  severe 
and  unattractive  labor.  The  Exposition,  therefore,  speedily 
became  unpopular  with  the  general  public,  and  very  few,  who 
were  not  compelled  to,  paid  it  either  long  or  frequent  visits. 

This  deficiency  as  regards  detail  was  in  fact  the  point  of 
weakness  throughout  the  undertaking.  The  conception  was 
fery  large  and  fine,  perhaps  too  much  so,  but  it  was  not  sus- 
tained by  any  corresponding  faculty  for  organization.  A  few** 
men,  indeed  it  might  practically  be  said  that  one  man, 
attempted  to  supervise  everything  and  to  do  everything. 
Subordinates  were  mere  ciphers.  But  to  secure  the  success  of 
an  enterprise  of  this  description,  a  good  organizing  and  exec- 
utive mind  is  even  more  indispensable  than  a  large  conceiving 
mind.  Indeed,  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine,  or  to  procure 
designs  for  the  largest  buildings  or  the  most  perfect  collection 
of  industrial  products  which  the  world  has  yet  seen,  and  by 
a  sufficiently  lavish  expenditure  of  money  these  conceptions 
may  be  more  or  less  fully  realized.  The  difficulty  is  in  pro- 
ducing, with  the  least  degree  of  friction  and  at  the  smallest 
cost,  practical  and  harmonious  results.  In  neither  of  these 
respects  could  the  Vienna  Exposition  be  regarded  as  a  success. 
Indeed,  few  more  perilous  industrial  undertakings  could  be 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ADAMS.  11 

devised  for  any  community  than  the  embarking  in  a  world's 
fair,  without  first  knowing  exactly  where  to  find  that  one  man 
who  both  has  a  perfectly  definite  conception  of  what  it  is  pro- 
posed to  do  and  an  equally  definite  conception  of  how  it  is  to 
be  done.  An  exposition  cannot  be  made,  through  repeated 
failure,  to  result  in  ultimate  success.  Its  fate  depends  wholly 
upon  the  concentration  of  its  management  and  the  executive 
capacity  of  its  manager.  At  Vienna,  while  the  concentra- 
tion was  perfect,  the  executive  capacity  was  deficient.  The 
danger  for  Philadelphia  will  probably  be  found  in  the  attempt 
to  evolve  a  management  out  of  a  caucus,  which  cannot  but 
result  in  the  absence  of  every  accessory  to  an  assured  success. 
Another  point  in  its  history  having  a  decided  significance 
for  the  Centennial,  was  the  failure  of  the  Vienna  Exposition 
in  respect  to  the  number  of  visitors  who  attended  it.  It  is 
true  that  this  deficiency  was  partly  due  to  special  causes.  A 
wide-spread  apprehension  of  the  cholera  prevailed  throughout 
Europe  during  almost  the  whole  summer,  and  most  exagger- 
ated reports  of  its  ravages  at  Vienna  were  everywhere  cur- 
rent. This,  however,  was  but  one  of  the  minor  causes  which 
deterred  people  from  going  there ;  it  was  not,  indeed,  even 
so  influential  as  the  systematic  and  outrageous  extortions 
practised  by  the  Viennese  upon  their  visitors.  During  the 
later  months  of  the  Exposition  these  were  not,  perhaps, 
greater  than  might  have  been  expected  in  any  city  under  sim- 
ilar circumstances.  A  lasting  reputation  had,  however,  been 
achieved  during  the  earlier  weeks.  The  Viennese  then 
showed  the  full  spirit  which  ordinarily  takes  possession  of 
the  inhabitants  of  a  provincial  city  which  thinks  it  has 
for  a  time  secured,  to  itself  the  first-class  attraction  of  a 
metropolis.  It  was  thought  that  the  whole  world  must 
come  to  the  Exposition, — that  it  could  not  stay  away ;  and 
the  natives  prepared  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  neces- 
sity. During  the  few  days  of  assured  confidence  in  the  un- 
paralleled success  of  their  great  show,  the  extortions  prac- 
tised upon  strangers  were  so  unblushing,  so  impudent,  so 
aggravating,  as  to  produce  a  lasting  impression  throughout 
Europe.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  the  English  and' 
the  Americans, — the  two  people  most  lavish  in  their  expendi- 
ture of  money, — among  whom  a  bitter  prejudice  was  created 
which  was  not  subsequently  efiaced. 


12  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

But  apart  from  these  two  minor  considerations,  which  un- 
questionably had  a  considerable  effect  in  diminishing  the  num- 
ber of  visitors  after  the  month  of  May,  there  was  another  and 
far  more  fundamental  fact  which  the  Austrian  authorities  lost 
sight  of  in  planning  their  enterprise,  and  which  their  experi- 
ence should  warn  us  not  to  disregard.  There  is  excellent 
reason  to  believe  that  their  experiment  was  upon  a  scale  alto- 
gether too  large  for  its  base  and  surroundings.  In  other 
words,  it  is  very  questionable  whether  an  exposition  of  the 
superlative  grandeur  of  that  of  Vienna  can  ever  be  successfully 
undertaken  in  any  city  of  the  second  class.  There  are  two 
cities, — London  and  Paris, — sufficiently  large  and  sufficiently 
central  to  sustain  a  world's  fair  on  the  largest  scale ; — it  is 
very  doubtful  if  there  are  more  than  two.  At  least  one-half 
probably  of  those  who  enter  the  doors  of  an  international  ex- 
position belong  to  the  population  of  the  city  in  which  it  is 
held.  That  population  must  always  constitute  the  great  basis 
of  attendance.  In  this  respect  no  other  cities  at  all  approach 
London  or  Paris,  and  through  them  also  passes  the  whole 
world  which  travels,  whether  for  business  or  pleasure.  It 
is  not  so  with  Vienna,  and  it  is  less  so  yet  with  Philadelphia. 
With  neither  of  these  cities  are  strangers  familiar.  They 
will,  indeed,  go  to  them  if  drawn  there  by  sufficient  attrac- 
tion, but  they  cannot  be  induced  to  remain  in  them.  This  fact 
was  singularly  illustrated  during  the  Exposition.  The  capital 
of  the  Austrian  Empire  certainly  has  the  reputation  of  being  a 
gay,  a  brilliant,  an  interesting  and  not  a  peculiarly  severe  or 
virtuous  city.  Nevertheless,  even  during  the  last  summer,  it 
was  found  impossible  to  keep  the  throng  of  travellers  there 
for  any  length  of  time.  It  was  most  noticeable  that  numbers 
continually  arrived  with  the  expressed  intention  of  passing 
weeks  in  the  study  of  the  Exposition,  as  had  been  so  much 
the  practice  among  strangers,  both  in  London  in  1862  and  at 
Paris  in  1867.  Almost  invariably,  however,  the  stay  of  such 
persons  was  limited  to  two  or  perhaps  three  days.  They  seemed 
to  weary  of  the  place,  and  of  the  Exposition  even  more  than 
of  the  place.  The  latter  oppressed  them,  and  Vienna  failed 
to  attract  them; — they  were  neither  amused  nor  instructed 
nor  comfortable.  They  soon  realized  that  they  were  getting 
very  little  enjoyment  in  return  for  a  very  heavy  expenditure, 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ADAMS.  13 

and,  accordingly,  they  went  elsewhere.  Day  by  day  after  the 
Exposition  was  opened,  it  thus  became  more  and  more  apparent 
that  it  was  a  world's  fair  held  at  a  point  which  was  not  a  world's 
centre.  On  the  contrary,  the  world  had  to  go  out  of  its  way  to 
get  to  it.  Something  more  attractive  than  a  universal  expo- 
sition, no  matter  how  wonderful,  was  required  to  keep  people 
away  from  their  familiar  haunts.  Notwithstanding  every  con- 
ceivable effort  to  afford  amusement  in  large  things  and  in 
small, — from  endless  concerts  and  beer-gardens  to  the  regu- 
larly arranged  arrival  and  departure  of  every  considerable 
sovereign  or  eminent  public  character  in  Europe, — there  were, 
during  the  very  months  that  the  Exposition  lasted,  more 
travellers  and  strangers  in  either  London  or  Paris  than  in 
Vienna,  and  they  also  remained  in  those  cities  for  a  longer 
time.  The  whole  undertaking  had,  however,  been  planned 
upon  the  assumption  that  all  previous  efforts  in  the  same 
line  were  to  be  wholly  eclipsed.  As  respects  magnitude  of 
apparatus  they  were  eclipsed,  and  the  financi?!l  failure  was 
in  perfect  correspondence.  The  necessary  preparation  to 
outdo  everything  which  had  gone  before  was  made.  Un- 
fortunately, those  for  whose  benefit  it  was  made  failed  to 
respond. 

The  consequent  financial  experience  was  very  suggestive. 
The  appropriation  originally  made  by  the  government  on 
account  of  the  Exposition  was  $3,000,000,  which  it  was  further 
provided  was  in  no  case  to  be  exceeded.  The  total  cost  will 
probably  be  found  to  amount  to  over  $12,000,000,  as  the 
receipts  from  visitors  were  scarcely  sufficient  to  meet  the  cur- 
rent expenses  ;  leaving  a  deficit  of  some  $9,000,000  to  be  met 
by  the  Austrian  government.  And  yet,  even  from  this  lam- 
entable showing,  it  would  not  be  safe  to  draw  any  inferences 
in  disparagement  of  the  Vienna  Exposition  as  affecting  the 
people  of  Austria,  or  of  the  Centennial  as  affecting  the  peo- 
ple of  this  country.  The  influence  of  such  an  experience 
cannot  easily  be  measured  in  dollars  and  cents.  On  the  con- 
trary, there  can  scarcely  remain  a  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any 
careful  observer,  at  all  familiar  with  the  progress  of  recent 
Austrian  development,  that  the  Exposition,  even  had  it  re- 
sulted in  a  deficit  twice  as  large  as  that  stated,  would  have 
been  worth  far  more  than  it  cost.     Its  educational  effects  can 


14  EXPOSITION   AT   VTENITA. 

hardly  fail  to  be  incalculable.  The  people  of  Austria  intel- 
lectually, politically  and  industrially  are  in  a  state  of  active 
transition.  The  disastrous  results  of  the  campaign  of  1866 
drove  the  Empire  into  a  course  of  decided  political  and  educa- 
tional reform.  The  absolute  necessity  of  a  reorganization  was 
made  apparent  even  to  those  most  wedded  to  the  old  ways, 
and  from  the  battle  of  Sadowa  may  be  dated  a  new  era  in  Aus- 
trian history.  Seven  years  of  education  had  made  their  in- 
fluence perceptibly  felt  in  every  department  of  national  life, 
and  not  least  in  its  industries.  There  was  a  general  awaken- 
ing. Upon  a  people  in  this  receptive  condition  the  effect  of  a 
universal  exposition  like  that  of  the  last  summer  cannot  easily 
be  overestimated.  It  is  probably  not  too  much  to  say  that 
for  the  next  score  of  years  everything  inventive  or  industrial 
in  Austria  will  date  a  new  impetus  from  it,  as  everything 
educational  and  political  already  dates  from  Sadowa. 

Nor  will  the  experience  of  Austria,  if  this  expectation 
should  be  realized,  be  peculiar  to  herself.  A  remarkable 
illustration  of  a  similar  impetus  given  to  English  industries 
by  the  previous  expositions  at  London  was  observable  at 
Vienna.  It  was  there  generally  conceded  that  the  most  brill- 
iant success  won  was  in  the  department  of  the  ceramic  arts, 
and  in  this  the  palm  was  generally  conceded  to  the  English 
exhibitors.  The  progress  made  by  them,  aiid  the  absolute 
excellence  they  had  attained,  were  most  noteworthy.  This 
was  attributed  to  the  improved  education  and  increased 
artistic  taste  of  the  country,  largely  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  South  Kensington  Museum  and  the  system  of  art 
schools  of  which  that  museum  is  the  great  centre.  These 
again  originated  out  of  the  first  London  Exposition  of  1851, 
and  remain  as  a  lasting  monument  to  its  success  and  utility. 

A  more  correct  appreciation  of  circumstances  and  a  more 
perfect  organization  of  details,  would  obviate  in  a  very  great 
degree  as  respects  the  Centennial  the  danger  of  an}^  such  dis- 
astrous financial  results  as  those  experienced  at  Vienna. 
That  which  may  be  possible  in  London  or  Paris  may  be 
impracticable  at  Philadelphia.  If,  however,  this  apprecia- 
tion of  circumstances  and  regard  to  details  could  but  be 
secured,  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  any  civilized  peo- 
ple is  in  a  condition  to  derive  more  immediate  or  more  im- 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ADAMS.  15 

portant  results  from  a  successful  world's  fair,  than  are  now 
the  people  of  this  country.  They  are  in  no  respect  in  the 
condition  of  the  people  of  Austria ;  but  it  was  impossible  to 
examine  the  rare  display  at  Vienna,  without  being  deeply 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  educational  results  to  be 
derived  by  America  from  a  similar  experience.  As  respects 
taste  and  artistic  development, — in  all  the  results  of  a  higher 
and  more  thorough  education, — our  people  are  as  yet  sadly 
deficient ;  they  need  an  impetus.  No  one  could  walk  through 
the  Exposition  at  Vienna  and  not  experience  a  realizing  sense 
of  the  fact.  Should  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  lead  to  such 
results  with  us  as  the  Exposition  of  1851  did  with  the  people 
of  England, — should  it  leave  behind  it  with  us,  as  that  did 
with  them,  a  keener  appreciation  both  of  our  national  short- 
comings and  our  possibilities, — it  will  not  be  otherwise  than  a 
brilliant  success,  even  if  it  bequeaths  us  also  a  deficit  as  large 
as  that  which  the  Austrian  authorities  are  now  contemplating 
with  disappointment  and  dismay. 

These  are  not,  however,  matters  which  my  colleagues  or 
myself  were  especially  directed  to  investigate.  The  objects 
for  which  a  state  commission  had  been  sent  to  Vienna,  and 
which  we  were  necessarily  to  keep  in  view,  were  more  par- 
ticularly expressed  in  the  language  of  the  Eesolve  authorizing 
our  appointment,  which  has  already  been  quoted,  and  in  the 
letter  of  instructions  of  April  10th,  addressed  to  me  by  the 
governor,  a  copy  of  which  is  prefixed  to  this  report.  Recur- 
ring to  these,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  dutv  of  aidins:  the 
Massachusetts  contributors  was  especially  imposed  upon  us. 
In  this  respect  we  found  the  field  of  our  usefulness  extremely 
limited.  Had  the  commission  been  authorized  and  appointed 
a  year  earlier,  the  case  might  have  been  very  difierent.  The 
commissioners  then  would  have  organized  the  Massachusetts 
exposition,  would  have  been  familiar  with  the  conditions 
under  which  the  contributions  were  to  be  forwarded  and  dis- 
played, and  would  have  been  somewhat  advised  both  as  to 
what  was  expected  of  them  and  what  it  would  be  in  their 
power  to  accomplish.  As  it  was,  all  that  was  done  in  the  way 
of  organization  at  all,  had  been  done  by  the  commissioners 
of  the  United  States  before  our  appointment  was  even  con- 
templated.    It  was  entirely  out  of  the  question,  therefore. 


16  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

for  us  to  be  of  any  service  in  the  work  of  preparation,  or 
to  assist  contributors  in  forwarding  their  goods.  It  only 
remained  to  hurry  to  Vienna,  without  the  possibility  of 
arriving  there  before  every  article  should  have  been  in  its 
place.  When  we  did  arrive  there,  we  found,  it  is  true, 
nothing  in  place,  and  the  Massachusetts  expositors,  in  com- 
mon with  all  of  those  from  America,  utterly  paralyzed  by  the 
troubles  in  the  United  States  commission.  I  have  already 
sufficiently  referred  to  these,  and  to  the  extreme  care  with 
which  my  colleagues  and  myself  abstained  from  all  participa- 
tion in  them.  Meanwhile,  even  had  our  commission  then 
been  in  a  thoroughly  effective  condition,  it  would  have  been 
wholly  out  of  the  question  for  it  to  separate  the  Massachusetts 
from  the  other  expositors.  A  state  commission  had,  of  course, 
no  recognized  position  with  the  Austrian  authorities,  and  could 
communicate  with  them  only  through  the  representative  of 
the  United  States.  There  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been 
any  such  representative  until  after  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Schultz, 
when  everything  that  could  be  done  for  the  expositors  of  any 
state  was  done  for  all.  Circumstances  would  afterwards 
occasionally  arise  to  induce  some  Massachusetts  exhibitor  to 
apply  to  us  for  advice  or  assistance  ;  such  occurrences  were, 
however,  rare,  and  the  matters  presented  trivial.  In  f  ict, 
judging  by  my  own  experience  at  Vienna,  I  should  say  that 
in  this  respect  any  state  commission  was  wholly  superfluous ; 
no  field  of  usefulness  is  open  to  it.  It  can,  if  properly  organ- 
ized, do  a  great  deal  of  work  of  the  utmost  value  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  preparation, — while  the  display  of  goods  is  being 
gotten  together  and  forwarded, — but  after  the  expositor  is 
on  the  grouud,  he  must  neces«arily  look  to  the  national  repre- 
sentatives, and  those  of  a  state  are,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned, 
of  about  as  much  value  as  would  be  those  of  his  county  or 
town.  The  most  they  can  do  is  to  Be  at  hand  in  case  they  are 
wanted  to  supply  a  vacancy,  such  as  arose  in  Vienna,  among 
those  really  in  charge.  They  then,  however,  cease  to  be 
state  and  become  national  commissioners. 

As  it  was  practically  out  of  their  power  to  render  any 
material  aid  to  the  Massachusetts  contributors,  it  only  re- 
mained for  the  commissioners  to  give  their  undivided  atten- 
tion to  the  work  of  investigation   imposed  upon  them ;    to 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ADAMS.  17 

examine  the  industries,  manufactures  and  economies  pre- 
sented with  a  view  to  bringing  back  in  a  body  of  reports  the 
largest  amount  possible  of  information  likely  to  prove  useful 
to  the  people  of  the  State.  I  have  no  intention  of  attempting 
any  elaborate  report  myself,  either  upon  the  exhibition  as  a 
whole  or  the  American  department  in  it,  or  upon  the  Massachu- 
setts representation  in  that  department.  I  do  not  either  feel 
myself  competent  to  undertake  such  a  task,  nor -was  I  appointed 
with  the  expectation  that  I  should  do  so.  Speaking  generally, 
however,  and  taking  into  account  the  civilization,  the  wealth, 
the  standing  and  above  all  the  pride  of  the  country  which 
contributed  it,  the  American  department  was  the  least  credit- 
able part  of  the  Exposition.  The  exhibit  of  machinery  saved 
it  from  being  wholly  discreditable,  and  the  educational  depart- 
ment excited  some  general  interest.  Including  these  redeem- 
ing features,  however,  the  whole  result  would  have  reflected 
DO  credit  whatever  on  a  Worcester  County  fair. 

The  official  classification  divided  the  articles  in  the  whole 
Exposition  into  twenty-six  groups.  In  twenty -three  of  these 
America  was  more  or  less  represented,  though  in  all  but  one  the 
representation  was  in  no  way  calculated  to  give  a  correct  im- 
pression of  our  progress  or  condition  as  a  people.  The  difficulty 
had  evidently  lain  in  the  work  of  preliminary  organization.  It 
was  quite  apparent  from  the  most  superficial  examination  that 
such  articles  as  were  there  had  been  in  greatest  part  gotten 
together  at  hap-hazard ;  and  that,  while  few  things  had  been 
judiciously  selected,  absolutely  nothing  had  been  rejected. 
It  would  have  been  far  better,  so  far  as  the  general  impres- 
sion created  was  concerned,  if  all  else  had  been'  refused  and 
our  contributions  had  been  wholly  confined  to  the  hall  of 
machinery.  A  walk  through  the  American  department  left 
on  the  mind  an  unpleasant  impression  of  meagreness  in  pro- 
duction, absence  of  taste  and  poverty  of  imagination,  which 
was  even  painful  if  the  visitor  happened  to  approach  it  through 
the  superb  English  and  French  displays  next  to  it  in  order  of 
arrangement. 

Appended  to  this  Report  tables  are  submitted  showing, — 
First.  The  entire  number  of  American  exhibits,  with  the 
groups  to  which  they  severally  belonged,  and  the  medals  or 
diplomas  of  each  description  awarded  to  them. 
3 


18  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Second.  A  similar  table  relating  solely  to  the  Massachu- 
setts exhibits. 

Third.  A  table  showing  the  contributions  of  the  several 
states  of  the  Union  to  each  of  the  groups. 

Fourth.  The  diplomas  or  medals  awarded  in  each  of  the 
groups  to  the  exhibits  of  the  several  states  ;  and 

Fifth.  A  table  of  thirty-two  of  the  leading  industries  of 
Massachusetts  reported  in  the  last  United  States  census,  show- 
ing the  number  of  establishments  engaged  in  each  and  the  total 
value  of  their  annual  production,  with  the  number  of  exhibits 
contributed  by  them  to  the  Exposition. 

The  last  table  reveals  with  sufficient  distinctness  the  utterly 
imperfect  character  of  the  Massachusetts  contributions,  if  they 
were  intended  in  any  way  to  reflect  the  industrial  develop- 
ment of  the  State.  Of  the  3,926  establishments  reported  to 
the  census  as  engaged  in  these  thirty-two  forms  of  produc- 
tion, but  thirty-seven  were  represented.  Seventeen  of  these 
thirty-seven  contributions  were  in  the  single  group  of  ma- 
chinery. Twenty  of  the  thirty-seven  industries  enumerated 
were  wholly  unrepresented.  Among  those  thus  conspicuous 
for  their  absence  were  the  manufactures  of  cars,  of  agricult- 
ural implements,  of  cutlery,  of  drugs  and  chemicals,  of  paper, 
of  glass,  of  clothing,  of  prints,  of  plated  ware,  of  straw  work, 
of  watches,  of  wire  and  worsted  goods.  Of  the  1,123  estab- 
lishments engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes,  three 
contributed.  One  solitary  contributor  only,  represented  our 
annual  production  of  $45,000,000  of  cotton  goods.  Our 
famous  edge-tools,  our  India-rubber  goods,  our  musical  in- 
struments and  our  woodenware  numbered  also  one  con- 
tributor each.     Our  woollen  goods  had  two. 

Turning  to  the  several  groups,  and  excluding  the  educa- 
tional department,  in  regard  to  which  a  special  report  will  be 
made  by  Mr.  Philbrick,  the  commissioner  in  charge,  it  will 
be  seen  that  in  eleven  out  of  the  twenty-five  the  State  was 
wholly  unrepresented.  In  this  number  were  included  all  the 
departments  of  art,  metallurgy,  agriculture  and  horticulture ; 
stone,  earthenware  and  glass  ;  all  small  wares  and  fancy  goods  ; 
paper  and  stationery  ;  civil  engineering  and  architecture;  and 
interior  household  decoration  and  arrangement.  In  four  of 
the  fourteen  groups  in  which  it  was  represented  at  all,  it  had 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ADAMS.  19 

single  contributions.  In  five  it  had  two  ;  in  one  it  had  three  ; 
in  one  it  had  four  ;  in  one,  that  of  textile  fabrics,  it  had  seven  ; 
in  one  other,  that  of  machinery,  it  had  seventeen.  Our  man- 
ufacturers of  condensed  food  and  preserved  fruit  and  vegeta- 
bles (Group  IV.)  exhibited  two  excellent  examples,  the  one 
of  canned  articles,  the  other  of  cocoa  and  chocolate.  Our 
engrairers,  book-printers,  lithographers,  photographers  and 
decorators  (Group  XII.)  were  fepresented  by  Prang's 
chromo-lithographs,  which,  with  a  solitary  landscape-painting 
by  Mr.  C.  Granville  Way,  of  Boston,  were  the  sole  indica- 
tions of  progress  in  our  artistic  development.  Our  philo- 
sophical and  surgical  instruments  (Group  XIV.)  were  two 
models,  the  one  of  an  "  Hyperbolical  Paraboloid,"  the  other 
of  an  "  Hyperboloid  "  and  a  "Hygrodiek."  In  the  great  field 
of  chemical  industries  (Group  III.),  we  were  represented  by 
some  lubricating  oil,  some  leather-dressing,  and  by  the  "Ris- 
ing Sun  Stove  Polish."  . 

It  does  not,  of  course,  need  to  be  said  that  no  discrimina- 
tion whatever  had  been  exercised  as  regards  a  selection  of 
exhibits  in  the  case  of  the  State,  any  more  than  in  that  of  the 
nation,  and  in  six  only  of  the  fourteen  groups  in  which  she 
was  represented,  were  the  contributions  such  as  to  call  for 
special  commendation.  Among  the  textiles  (Group  V.)  were 
specimens  of  cassimeres,  and  of  carpets  of  excellent  quality 
produced  in  Massachusetts  by  Blackinton  &  Sons,  of  North 
Adams,  and  by  the  Bigelow  Carpet  Co.,  of  Clinton,  though 
forwarded  by  New  York  selling  agents.  Gardner  Brewer  & 
Co.  also  exhibited  some  superior  shirtings,  though  these  again 
were  manufactured  in  New  Hampshire.  In  Group  VII.,  the 
contribution  of  the  Douglas  Axe  Co.  was  highly  creditable. 
In  Group  VIII.,  A.  S.  Parks,  of  Winchendon,  exhibited 
water-pails,  manufactured  on  the  spot,  and  B.  F.  Sturtevant, 
of  Boston,  some  specimens  of  prepared  wood  for  shoe-pegs, 
both  of  which  exhibits  received  and  deserved  hiffh  commend- 
ation.  In  Group  XV.,  our  single  contribution  of  musical 
instruments — for  our  great  piano  manufacturers  were  not 
represented — were  some  highly  creditable  organs,  from  the 
Mason  &  Hamlin  Organ  Co.,  of  Boston  ;  and  in  Group  XVI. 
the  Smith  &  Wesson  revolvers  fairly  represented  our  progress 


20  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

in  fire-arms.     In  Machinery  only,  however,  was  the  Massa- 
chusetts contribution  otherwise  than  a  ludicrous  failure. 

In  this  Group  (XIII.)  the  American  exhibits  generally 
attracted  attention,  on  account  of  their  merit  and  novelty, 
and,  though  by  no  means  the  best  specimens  of  our  mechanical 
engineering,  did  not  reflect  discredit.  An  examination  of  the 
list  of  awards  will  show,  that  in  proportion  to  its  exhibitors, 
the  United .  States  received  a  larger  number  of  high  prizes 
than  any  other  country.  The  reason  for  this  is  not  that  the 
jury  were  lax  or  partial  in  their  decisions,  but  that  nearly 
every  one  of  our  machines,  when  compared  with  those  of 
foreign  make,  had  some  points  of  superiority. 

Massachusetts  was  not  wanting  in  contributing  to  this 
result.  The  wood-working  machinery,  the  boot  and  shoe 
machinery  and  the  wool-spinner  were  among  the  chief  attrac- 
tions of  the  Exposition,  not  only  for  the  gazing  crowd,  but 
for  experts;  and  for  this  reason,  in  an  official  report,  the 
exhibits  from  the  State  in  this  department  should  receive 
more  than  a  merely  passing  notice. 

The  collection  of  wood-working  tools  exhibited  by  Mr.  B. 
D.  Whitney,  of  Winchendon,  without  considering  the  novelties 
in  design,  were  most  creditable  in  point  of  construction,  since 
they  showed  careful  calculation  and  accurate  workmanship, 
for  lack  of  which  American  tools  have  been  too  often  exposed 
to  criticism.  Mr.  Whitney's  pail-machinery  was  sent  only 
to  interest  visitors,  and  not  as  a  new  invention.  His  saw- 
bench  and  short  planer,  which  were  at  the  Paris  Exposition 
in  1867,  were  unsurpassed  by  any  similar  tools  on  exhibi- 
tion. The  scraping-machine,  designed  to  smooth  the  surface 
of  small  pieces  of  hardwood,  such  as  are  used  in  cabinet- 
making,  was  an  entirely  original  invention.  It  performs  its 
work  quicker  and  far  better  than  is  possible  by  hand-labor. 
In  order  to  secure  the  peculiar  edge  required  on  the  scraping- 
knife,  a  special  grinding-machine  was  provided,  without  which 
the  utility  of  the  scraper  would  be  much  lessened.  There 
was  also  a  jig-saw,  balanced  in  a  novel  way,  so  that  it  could 
be  run  at  a  high  speed  without  producing  the  trembling 
which  usually  attends  the  action  of  such  machines.  The  most 
prominent  of  his  exhibits,  and  the  one  which  was  brought  into 
competition   with  those  of  nearly  every  manufacturer  at  the 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ADAMS.  21 

Exposition,  was  the  improved  band-saw,  in  which  he  has 
accomplished  two  things,  which  are  essential  to  its  perfect 
working;  viz.,  a  suitable  surface  for  the  back  of  the  saw  to 
rub  against,  and  an  automatic  device  to  keep  the  tension  of 
the  saw-blade  uniform. 

The  firm  of  Witherby,  Rugg  &  Richardson,  of  Worcester, 
had  a  planing-machine  for  general  work  which  possessed  sev- 
eral advantages.  In  some  way  it  was  unfortunately  injured 
in  transit,  so  that  its  operation  was  rather. imperfect. 

The  Knapp  dovetailing  machine,  from  Northampton,  was  in 
constant  operation.  It  makes  a  form  of  dovetail  which  can 
be  used  whenever  machine-dovetailing  is  admissible.  For 
rapidity  and  accuracy  of  work  it  can  hardly  be  excelled. 

The  continuous  wool-spinner  exhibited  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Avery, 
of  Spencer,  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  exhibits  in  the 
hall.  By  a  simple  and  ingenious  device,  a  motion  is  attained 
in  drawing  out  the  roving  and  reducing  it  to  yarn,  which 
imitates  that  of  the  arm  of  a  hand  workman.  As  the  material 
is  drawn  constantly  from  the  spool,  and  continuously  wound 
upon  the  bobbin,  the  capacity  of  the  machine  is  at  least  double 
that  of  those  now  in  use.  There  are  in  addition  several  small 
contrivances  which  greatly  increase  its  efficiency. 

The  set  of  shoe-machinery  was  most  complete  of  its  kind, 
and  the  only  one  worthy  of  mention  in  the  Exposition.  Dur- 
ing several  hours  in  the  day,  workmen  were  engaged  in  mak- 
ing shoes,  or  in  showing  the  operation  of  special  machines. 
The  pegging-machines,  roller,  sewing-machines  and  burnisher, 
from  the  Shoe  Machinery  Manufacturing  Co.  of  Boston,  were 
comparatively  new.  The  "  wire-nailer  "  w,as  the  more  inter- 
esting, because  the  French  showed  a  far  inferior  machine  for 
the  same  work.  The  machines  for  making:  and  attachinsf 
heels,  sent  by  the  Bigelow  Heeling  Machine  Association,  of 
Worcester,  were  exhibited  for  the  first  time.  These  machines 
make  it  possible  to  manufacture  cheap  heels  from  good  or 
refuse  stock,  so  that  they  will  be  as  durable  as  when  made  in 
the  ordinary  way.  There  were  also  special  devices  for  attach- 
ing and  finishing  heels.  The  attention  paid  to  labor-saving 
contrivances  and  to  strength  in  construction  was  noticeable. 
The  enterprise  of  the  representatives  of  this  firm  in  persever- 
ing in  the  manufacture  of   shoes,   although  they  were  not 


22  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

allowed  to  sell  them,  deserves  commendation.  A  few  shoe- 
machines,  from  T.  A.  Dodge,  Cambridge — prominent  among 
which  was  the  well-known  McKay  sewing-machine — were 
brought  in  after  the  jury  had  finished  its  work,  and  therefore 
received  no  award. 

There  were  no  large  iron-working  tools  from  Massachu- 
setts, a  fact  which  is  the  more  astonishing  when  the  reputa- 
tion of  our  manufacturers  is  considered.  Among  the  shop- 
fittings  were  a  parallel-jawed  vise  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hall,  of 
Northampton ;  one  of  a  style  peculiarly  American,  so  con- 
trived that  the  jaws  can  be  rapidly  pulled  backward  and  for- 
ward, and  almost  instantly  fastened  on  any  interposed  object. 
The  Morse  Twist  Drill  Co.  showed  a  case  of  their  increase- 
twist  drills  and  fluted  reamers.  The  hand-knitting  machine, 
from  the  Lamb  Knitting  Machine  Co.,  at  Chicopee  Falls,  and 
the  Excelsior  Gas  Machine  from  Warren,  sustained  their 
reputation  as  standard  machines. 

From  this  brief  survey  of  the  important  Massachusetts 
mechanical  exhibits,  it  will  be  seen  that  even  in  those  depart- 
ments which  were  best  represented,  we  had  but  two  or  three 
exhibitors,  and  the  majority  of  kinds  were  nearly  or  wholly 
unrepresented.  The  only  mitigating  consideration  is,  that 
what  we  did  have  was  uniformly  good,  and  carried  away  the 
highest  honors. 

In  comparison  with  the  other  states  of  America,  Massachu- 
setts stood  fourth  in  respect  to  the  number  of  her  contribu- 
tions to  the  Exposition  as  a  whole,  being  exceeded  by  New 
York,  Ohio  and  Louisiana.  Judged  by  the  test  of  prizes 
awarded,  the  state  stood  second  with  Ohio  in  respect  to  their 
quality,  being  exceeded  only  by  New  York.  A  detailed  list, 
both  of  the  exhibitors  from  Massachusetts  and  of  the  prizes 
awarded  them,  will  be  found  appended  to  this  Report.  Of  the 
fifty-five  contributors  from  the  State  in  fourteen  groups,  thirty- 
three  received  either  prizes  or  honorable  mention.  Of  these, 
however,  the  medals  for  progress  and  merit — the  two  highest 
awards,  after  the  grand  diplomas  of  honor — alone  deserve  any 
great  degree  of  consideration,  the  others  having  been  so  widely 
distributed  as  to  lose  their  significance.  Of  the  sixty-four 
medals  of  progress  awarded  to  Americans,  Massachusetts 
received  thirteen ;  and  of  the  hundred  and  fifty-six  medals  of 


EEPORT    OF   MR.    ADAMS.  23 

merit,  she  received  fifteen;  being  in  all  twenty-eight  medals, 
as  compared  with  seventy-eight  received  by  the  New  York 
exhibitors,  twenty-eight  by  those  from  Ohio,  and  seventeen  by 
those  from  Pennsylvania.  Four  diplomas  of  honor  were,  how- 
ever, awarded  to  individual  American  expositors,  two  of  whom 
were  from  Pennsylvania,  and  one  each  from  Rhode  Island  and 
from  New  York.  The  four  individuals  thus  distinguished 
were,  Messrs.  Sellers,  for  machine  tools,  Corliss,  for  his 
steam-engine,  White  for  dentistry,  and  Wood  for  the  inven- 
tion of  the  mowing-machine.  It  will  be  noticed  that  every 
state  in  the  Union  was  represented  by  expositors,  though  no 
less  than  thirteen  states  numbered  three  or  less.  America 
was  not,  however,  represented  in  all  the  groups.  Nothing  was 
contributed  to  Group  XIX. ,  which  related  to  the  arrangement 
and  interior  decoration  of  the  private  dwelling-house ;  or  to 
Group  XXII. ,  which  was  devoted  to  showing  the  influence  of 
museums  of  fine  arts  on  industry  ;  or  to  Group  XXIV.,  which 
was  made  up  of  objects  of  fine  arts  of  the  past,  exhibited  by 
their  owners.  In  Group  XXV.,  in  which  were  included  the 
fine  arts  of  the  present  time,  produced  since  1862,  the  Ameri- 
can exposition  was  wretchedly  and  disgracefully  inadequate. 
In  Group  XX.,  being  the  farm-house,  its  arrangements,  fur- 
niture and  utensils,  Mr.  F.  H.  Appleton,  of  West  Peabody, 
furnished  the  solitary  contribution,  a  modest  plan  of  the  farm 
owned  and  cultivated  by  him.  In  Group  XXI.,  of  national 
domestic  industry,  which  included  the  superb  potteries,  por- 
celains, tapestries,  laces,  metal  articles  and  carved  work, 
which  were  the  brilliant  feature  of  the  Exposition,  the  only 
American  contributors  were  two  young  ladies,  respectively 
from  New  York'  and  Michigan,  who  sent,  the  -one  an  "Em- 
broidered Picture,"  and  the  other  a  "Phantom  Bouquet."  In 
Group  XXIII.,  relating  to  art  applied  to  religion,  and  which 
included  the  entire  ornamentation  of  all  sacred  edifices,  the 
American  contributions  were  two  in  number,  and  both  from 
New  York,  the  one  being  a  "  Bronze  Lectern,"  and  the  other 
an  improved  "  Burial  Casket." 

Turning  from  the  American  department  to  the  Exposition 
as  a  whole,  the  general  field  was  as  rich  in  material'  for 
special  reports  of  value  as  the  particular  field  was  barren. 
A  very  cursory  examination,  however,  of  most  of  the  col- 


24  EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 

lections  of  public  reports  which  have  been  made  on  previous 
Expositions  supplied  the  means  of  forming  a  clear  idea,  both 
of  the  nature  and  value  of  these  productions.  As  a  rule  they 
have  added  simply  a  heavy  printing  bill  to  the  other  expenses 
of  representation.  This  experience  the  Massachusetts  com- 
missioners felt  no  ambition  to  repeat.  A  general  report  of 
our  own  could  easily  have  been  compiled,  which  would  have 
included,  in  a  compendious  form,  much  that  has  already 
appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  press.  A  large  body  of  per- 
functory reports  of  a  similar  character  could  also  have  been 
procured  from  others  at  a  moderate  cost.  Neither  of  these 
methods  of  completing  our  work  commended  itself  to  our 
judgment.  Very  serious  difficulties,  however,  presented 
themselves  in  the  way  of  any  systematic  plan  of  reports  cal- 
culated to  be  of  real  value.  Two  plans  on  which  they  might 
be  prepared  suggested  themselves.  The  first  looked  to  a 
comparison  of  results  presented  in  the  Vienna  Exposition 
with  those  observed  in  the  expositions  of  London  or  of  Paris. 
Such  a  comparison,  properly  instituted  and  developed  by 
competent  hands,  should  reveal  more  or  less  accurately  the 
departments  in  which  industry  or  art  had  made  advances,  or 
had  retrograded,  between  the  expositions.  Had  it  been 
within  our  power  to  carry  out  this  scheme  of  reports,  the 
result  could  not  but  have  been  most  instructive,  as  showing 
the  hidden  influences  which  had  been  and  now  were  in  oper- 
ation in  difierent  countries.  The  conception  was,  however, 
too  general,  and  presupposed  a  command  of  means  and  of 
agents  altogether  beyond  the  reach  of  a  state  commission. 
The  other  plan  was  calculated  to  be  of  more  immediate  inter- 
est to  Massachusetts.  A  very  brief  study  of  the  Exposition 
sufficed  to  show,  that,  so  far  as  America  was  concerned,  the 
articles  contributed  to  it  were  divided  by  a  broad  line  of 
demarcation  into  two  classes.  In  one  class  were  included  the 
articles  of  practical.utility,  including  especially  all  labor-saving 
appliances ;  in  the  other  were  those  results  of  human  skill, 
the  production  of  which  was  due  to  a  more  educated  hand  or 
to  a  more  developed  artistic  taste  ;  which  showed  a  finer  touch 
'or  a  more  thorousjh  technical  traininof.  As  reo;ards  the  first 
class  of  exhibits,  revealing  a  ready  resource  and  a  great, 
though  somewhat  coarse,  practical  ingenuity,  America,  even 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ADAMS.  25 

at  Vienna,  showed  a  sufficient  degree  of  strength,  and  cer- 
tainly seemed  to  call  for  no  reports  from  public  agents.     It 
would  indeed  be  little  less  *than  a  display  of  folly  for  a  body 
of  state  officials,   with,  at  best  very  general  information,  to 
undertake  to  instruct  in  the  details  of  their  business  men 
managing  interests,  the  annual  product  of  which  amounts  to 
tens  of  millions  of  dollars.     It  is  not  to  government  reports 
that  these  men  go  for  information.     There  was  little  prob- 
ability that  we  could  discover  much  that  has  escaped  their 
search,  even  if  they  were  not  themselves  on  the  ground  in 
person,  or  by  their  representatives.     It  is  not  so,  however,  as 
regards  the  exhibits  of  the  second  class.     No  richer  field  of 
instruction  for  Massachusetts  industry  could  have  been  desired 
than  was  presented  at  Vienna  in  the  display  of  articles,  the 
excellence  of  which  lay  in  the  nice  skill  or  educated  taste 
or  thorough  training  of  those  who  produced  them.     America 
was    here    immeasurably    behind    all    leading    competitors. 
After   full   consideration,    therefore,    it   was    determined   to 
devote  especial  attention  to  securing  detailed  reports  bearing 
upon  the  exhibits  belonging  to  this  class,  and  to  confine  the 
reports    relating  to  machinery  and    labor-saving   inventions 
within  very  general  limits.     A  comprehensive  schedule  was 
accordingly  prepared,  and  it  remained  only  to  secure  the  ser- 
vices of  the  specialists  competent  to  develop  its  several  parts. 
But  here   again  was   encouutered  the  great   obstacle  of  an 
imperfect    organization.     Our   scheme   included  some  thirty 
papers  014  various  subjects,  a  special  prominence  being  given 
to  the  exhibits  in  Group  XXII.,  ^described  in  the  official 
catalogue  as  that  part  of  the  exhibition  showing  the  organ- 
ization and  influence  of  museums  of  fine  art  as  applied  to 
industry, — to   which   group,   it  will   be  remembered,   not  a 
single  contribution  was  made  by  America,    We  further  desired 
to  procure  more  or  less  thorough  and  authoritative   infor- 
mation   on   the   recent   developments   in   the   production    of 
pottery,  porcelain  and  the  ceramic  arts  generally, — in  which 
this  Exposition  was  wonderfully  rich, — on  gold  and  silver 
wares ;  embroideries  and  fine  textile  fabrics ;   on  paintings, 
bronzes,   statuary  and  engravings ;    on  glass  and  on  manu- 
factures of  ivory,  of  paper  and  of  leather.    A  body  of  reports, 
some  twenty  in  number,  was  promised  us,  all  of  which,  we 
4 


26  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

believe,  would  have  proved  of  value,  and  many  of  which  have 
already  been  completed,  and  are^ow  in  our  hands  ready  for 
publication.  As  a  whole,  however,  the  design  could  not  be 
carried  out.  The  cause  of  our  failure  to  do  all  that  we  hoped  to 
do  in  this  respect,  I  shall  hereafter  refer  to  more  fully.  At 
present  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  we  had  relied  upon  finding  at 
Vienna,  upon  the  juries,  in  the  national  commission,  or  among 
the  Americans  drawn  thither  by  the  Exposition,  many  who 
were  interested  in  specialties,  and  from  whom  suggestions  and 
even  reports  might  be  procured.  A  few  such  there  were,  and  to 
them  we  owe  those  portions  of  the  general  plan  of  our  reports 
which  we  succeeded  in  procuring.  The  result,  however, 
constitutes  at  best  but  a  series  of  fragments.  As  a  rule,  the 
material  we  had  to  work  with  was  of  the  most  discouraging 
description,  from  which  no  results  worthy  of  preservation 
could  be  expected.  Even  where  men  of  character  and 
knowledge  were  found,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  they 
were  either  so  disgusted  with  the  disrepute  into  which  Amer- 
ica and  Americans  had  fallen,  that  they  refused  to  assume  any 
labor  in  connection  with  the  Exposition,  or  they  remained  at 
Vienna  merely  long  enough  to  get  an  idea  of  what  the  Expo- 
sition contained,  and  then  dismissed  the  whole  subject  as 
rapidly  as  possible  from  their  minds.  Two  examples  will 
illustrate  the  disappointments  the  commissioners  had  to 
encounter  in  this  respect.  The  production  of  paper  and  glass 
is  among  the  most  promising  industries  of  Massachusetts, 
and  admits  of  great  development.  In  both,  tlte  Vienna 
Exposition  was  peculiarly  rich ;  and  to  the  manufactured 
results  of  both  artistic  taste  and  technical  skill  have  of  late 
years  contributed  a  greatly  increased  value.  In  spite  of  the 
most  careful  inquiry,  however,  we  were  unable  to  discover 
any  one  possessing  a  knowledge  of  the  growth  or  present 
condition  of  these  industries  in  Massachusetts,  who  would 
undertake  to  furnish  a  paper  upon  them.  A  formal  and 
superficial  report  could  of  course  have  been  procured  with 
little  trouble  and  at  small  expense.  It  was  not,  however, 
deemed  advisable  in  securing  the  requisite  quantity  of  reports 
to  evince  a  too  complete  disregard  of  their  quality. 

Under  these  circumstances,  long  before  the  labors  of  the 
commission  were  brought  to  a  close,  the  fact  of  a  practical 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ADAMS.  27 

failure  in  our  mission  had  become  very  evident  to  me.  Th§ 
failure  was  due  to  either  of  two  causes — to  the  defective 
organization  of  the  commission  at  home,  or  to  the  absence  of 
the  material  necessary  for  it  to  work  with  at  Vienna.  The 
commission  had  not  been  selected  with  a  view  to  its  being 
complete  in  itself,  and  it  failed  to  secure  outside  of  itself  the 
assistance  necessary  to  carry  out  any  broad  plan  of  general 
review.  Whatever  the  cause,  however,  and  whether  person- 
ally responsible  for  it  or  not,  I  early  concluded  that  there  was 
but  one  course  to  be  pursued.  The  fact  of  failure  must  be 
met  squarely,  and  in  this  way  only  could  it  be  converted  into 
a  success.  Instead  of  attempting  to  silently  ignore  the  un- 
satisfactory results  of  our  mission,  or  to  conceal  them  under 
a  cloud  of  perfunctory  platitudes,  it  seemed  to  me  our  duty 
to  state  them  with  all  possible  precision  of  language,  to  the 
end  that  the  Commonwealth  might  derive  from  our  experience 
the  most  definite  conclusions  for  its  future  guidance.  For  to 
me  it  is  very  clear  that  the  Vienna  Exposition  is  not  destined 
to  be  the  last  of  its  kind.  Whether  financially  it  proved  a 
success  or  failure  is  matter  of  small  moment,  so  far  as  the 
continuance  of  the  great  succession  of  international  fairs  is 
concerned.  They  constitute  a  part  of  the  machinery  of 
modern  development.  As  mere  bazaars  of  the  nations,  if  as 
nothing  ^Ise,  they  are  destined  to  an  indefinite  repetition ;  for 
as  sensational  sales-rooms  they  are  profitable.  Others  will 
then  hereafter  take  place  in  which  it  will  be  well  for  Massa- 
chusetts to  take  her  part.  Many  and  obvious  reasons  will 
render  such  a  course  advisable.  The  people  of  Massachusetts 
form  a  community,  the  whole  future  prosperity  of  which 
depends  upon  its  maintaining  a  superiority  over  others  in 
matters  of  education,  of  ingenuity  and  of  skill.  The  figures 
of  the  census  are  sis^nificant  of  coming  danger  in  these 
respects.  Our  people  will  have  to  follow  the  path  which 
others  have  trodden  before,  and  consent  to  accept  lessons 
from  all  who  can  teach  them.  We,  no  less  than  the  people 
of  England,  of  France  and  of  Austria  can  learn  much  in 
these  great  industrial  arenas,  where  our  products  will  be 
brought  in  contact  and  comparison  with  those  of  other  com- 
munities before  our  own  eyes  and  those  of  the  world.  The 
State  itself,  also,  as  .an  educator,  may  derive  ,Riost  useful  les- 


28  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

sons  from  the  experience  ;  for  here  in  America  we  are  at  best 
too  far  removed  from  what  are  still  and  will  long  remain  the 
great  models  of  art  and  the  most  thorough  systems  of  instruc- 
tion. If,  however,  the  State  is  to  take  her  part  with  other 
civilized  communities  in  these  tests  of  relative  development,  it 
is  a  matter  of  no  small  import  that  she  should  appear  in  a 
manner  not  unworthy  of  herself.  If  this  could  hereafter  be 
secured,  it  would  be  perhaps  the  best  and  richest  result  pos- 
sible to  be  derived  from  her  own  and  the  nation's  experience 
at  Vienna.  In  no  event,  however,  should  that  experience  be 
repeated.  That  it  may  not  be  repeated,  it  is  proper  that  the 
truth  in  regard  to  it  should  be  told,  even  though  it  prove 
somewhat  unpalatable.  In  doing  this,  it  will  be  necessary  for 
me  to  refer  to  the  national  representation  and  that  of  other 
States  as  well  as  of  Massachusetts,  though  no  individual 
application  belongs  to  any  of  my  remarks. 

A  nation  or  a  community  in  entering  upon  the  competition 
of  a  world's  fair  must  have  one  or  both  of  two  objects  in  view  ; 
it  must  go  there  to  exhibit,  or  it  must  go  there  to  observe. 
In  going  there,  however,  for  the  one  object  or  the  other,  or 
for  the  two  combined,  there  is,  after  the  experience  we  now 
have  of  snch  undertakings,  no  possible  excuse  for  any  people 
in  going  so  unprepared  or  so  represented  as  to  either  fail  in 
accomplishing  the  objects  it  has  in  view,  or  to  humiliate  itself 
and  its  citizens  in  the  eyes  of  those  with  whom  it  proposes 
to  compete.  Whether  to  exhibit  or  to  observe,  however,  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  the  entire  arrangement  of  the 
American  organization  at  Vienna,  both  state  and  national, 
was  an  utter,  entire  and  disgraceful  failure ;  a  failure  in  con- 
ception and  a  failure  in  execution;  a  failure  unjust  to  our 
industries,  discreditable  to  the  country  and  humiliating  to 
those  more  immediately  concerned.  To  us  representing  the 
State  upon  the  spot,  it  was  painful  to  think  of  what  the  Mas- 
sachusetts exposition  might  easily  have  been  made, — most 
mortifying  to  see  what  it  was.  A  better  opportunity  to  achieve 
a  great  and  brilliant  success  in  the  eyes  of  all  civilized  nations 
was  never  offered  to  any  community  than  was  lost  by  the 
Commonwealth  at  Vienna.  It  was  lost  simply  from  the  fact 
that  the  State,  as  such,  undertook  to  participate  without  pre- 
viously having  any  definite  idea  either  as  to  what  it  proposed 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    ADAMS.  29 

to  do,  or  how  it  proposed  to  do  it.  The  means  appropriated 
to  the  end  were  ample ;  the  matured  design  was  wanting.  In 
this  and  in  every  similar  case  all  depends  upon  thoroughness 
of  preparation.  The  course  which  should  have  been  pursued 
is  now  perfectly  apparent.  The  legislative  action  taken  in 
February,  1873,  should  have  been  taken  in  February,  1872, 
and  the  Commissioners  who  were  to  carry  the  design  into 
execution  should  then  immediately  have  been  selected.  By 
them  the  State  should  have  been  thoroughly  canvassed  and 
its  industries  marshalled ;  those  best  representing  its  products 
should  have  been  interested  in  the  scheme,  and  their  contri- 
butions collected  and  shipped,  while  the  agents  of  the  Com- 
monwealth should  have  been  upon  the  ground  to  receive  them 
as  early  as  January,  1873.  Had  this  been  done,  no  one  at 
all  familiar  with  the  resources  and  results  of  her  industry  can 
for  an  instant  doubt  that  the  triumph  of  Massachusetts  would 
have  been  as  conspicuous  as  was  the  failure  of  the  United 
States ;  her  success  would  have  redeemed  the  credit  of  the 
nation.  It  is  idle  to  regret  an  opportunity  lost,  but,  in 
future,  it  will  be  for  Massachusetts  to  remember  that  it  is 
better,  much  better,  not  to  appear  at  all,  than  unworthily 
to  exhibit  herself  at  a  world's  fair.  A  worthy  appearance 
cannot  be  improvised ;  it  implies  labor,  prevision  and  ex- 
perience. Money  even  is  less  necessary  than  organization ; 
unless  this  last  is  provided,  both  the  State  and  its  citizens  had 
best  stay  at  home. 

All  this,  however,  related  merely  to  the  Exposition  as  a 
mart,— to  the  sales-room  only  into  which  all  countries  brought 
their  choicest  products  in  competition  with  each  other.  But 
a  no  less  pointed  lesson  of  experience  can  be  drawn  from  the 
manner  in  which  we  approach  the  Exposition  as  a  school. 
It  was  not  possible  to  look  at  the  amazing  results  of  science 
and  skill  there  displayed,  and  not  be  impressed  with  the 
inexhaustible  wealth  of  suggestion  they  contained  for  any 
American  community.  There  is  probably  no  other  people 
which  could  draw  so  many  benefits  from  it.  But  to  secure 
those  benefits  it  was  necessary  that  the  displayed,  and  yet 
more  the  hidden  resources  of  the  Exposition  should  be  stud- 
ied and  developed  by  men  who  were  masters  of  their  subjects. 
As  a  rule,  however,  the  men  selected  officially  to  represent 


30  EXPOSITION    AT    VIEiraA. 

America  were  even  less  creditable  to  the  country  than  were 
the  wares.  It  would  convey  a  wholly  erroneous  impression 
to  say  that  among  the  many  Americans  present  during  the 
Exposition,  and  occupying  more  or  less  official  relations  with  it, 
there  were  not  some  competent  to  fill  the  positions  in  which  they 
found  themselves  placed.  It  was,  however,  a  melancholy  fact 
that  this  was  the  exception  and  not  the  rule.  The  various 
organizations,  as  a  whole,  were  the  furthest  possible  from  what 
they  should  have  been.  This  criticism  applied  to  all,  from 
the  commission  of  the  United  States  down  through  those  of 
the  several  states,  and  to  our  representatives  on  the  juries. 
I  have  already  sufficiently  referred  to  the  strenuous  and  very 
partially  successful  efforts  made  to  discover  the  material  which 
would  enable  us  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  special  reports  which 
we  had  conceived.  As  a  rule,  our  researches  brought  to  light 
only  a  noticeable  absence  both  of  education  and  of  a  thorough 
practical  knowledge  of  specialties.  It  surely  should  be  a 
fair  matter  for  presumption,  that  individuals  selected  to  repre- 
sent America  upon  international  juries,  which  are  to  pass 
upon  the  relative  excellence  or  the  best  results  of  the  indus- 
tries of  all  civilized  countries,  would  know  something.  In  far 
too  many  instances,  those  Americans  who  were  appointed  to 
this  honorable  function  at  Vienna  seemed  to  fail  as  regards 
this  elementary  prerequisite.  It  was  thus  no  unusual  circum- 
stance  to  find  an  individual  holding  the  position  of  a  judge, 
whose  ignorance  of  the  subject-matter  under  discussion  was 
only  surpassed  by  his  ignorance  of  the  language  in  which  the 
discussion  was  necessarily  conducted.  Certain  men  there 
were  upon  the  juries  amply  competent  to  fill  any  position, — 
men  of  education,  at  home  in  the  languages  and  thoroughly 
versed  in  their  specialties.  These,  however,  constituted 
brilliant  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  of  incompetence.  As 
a  whole,  the  American  official  representation  was  a  curious 
and  instructive  commentary  in  the  eyes  of  all  other  countries 
of  both  hemispheres  upon  our  national  system  of  appoint- 
ment to  office.  Previous  qualification  for  the  performance  of 
duties  had  apparently  not  been  regarded  as  requisite.  There 
accordingly  had  flocked  to  Vienna  a  motley  accumulation  of 
nondescripts,  the  highest  general  ambition  among  whom,  ap- 
peared to  be  a  mention  in  reportorial  paragraphs, — newspaper 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ADAMS.  31 

celebrities  in  matters  of  education,  of  science  and  of  art.  It 
was  indeed  matter  of  curious  observation  how  very  rarely  the 
names  of  the  true  scientific  authorities — those  on  the  spot 
recognized  as  such — were  ever  mentioned  ;  and  what  frequent 
and  noisy  reference  was  made  to  others  whose  efforts  were  least 
appreciated  by  those  most  competent  to  judge  of  their  worth. 
There  were  also  in  attendance  a  large  number  of  others  occu- 
pying positions  more  or  less  official,  whose  presence  it  was 
not  easy  to  explain.  They  had  certainly  not  been  commis- 
sioned on  account  of  any  public  service  they  were  qualified  to 
render,  and  it  was  difficult  to  appreciate  the  exact  amount  of 
private  benefit  they  were  deriving  from  their  sojourn.  They 
certainly  knew  nothing,  and  to  all  appearances  they  did 
nothing.  They  had  apparently  secured  appointments  abroad  as 
an  agreeable  change  from  a  monotonous  and  dreary  idleness  at 
home.  These,  however,  were  at  least  a  negative  element, — 
they  were  unnoticeable  units  in  a  vast  aggregation  of  men. 
This  could  not,  however,  truthfully  be  said  of  all.  There 
were  among  the  accredited  representatives, — especially  the 
"Honorary  Commissioners"  of  certain  of  the  States, — not^a 
few  who  reflected  a  direct  discredit  upon  those  by  whom  they 
were  sent,  and  whom  they  were  supposed  to  represent.  Indi- 
viduals who  could  have  received  public  credentials  to  the 
Exposition  for  no  conceivable  reason  except  that  they  wished 
to  see  it,  or  had  some  less  creditable  ends  in  view,  and  regarded 
a  governmental  commission  as  a  species  of  letter  of  credit. 

It  surely  need  not  be  said  that  such  a  gathering  as  this  is 
not  one  from  which  it  is  easy  to  procure  complete  or  philo- 
sophical resumes  of  the  results  of  modern  progress.  That 
we  succeeded  in  securing  so  many  as  we  did,  is  now  somewhat 
of  a  matter  of  surprise  to  me.  The  lesson  to  be  derived  from 
this  portion  of  our  experience  is,  however,  an  obvious  one. 
So  far  as  studying  results  upon  any  general  or  comprehensive 
plan  of  value  is  concerned,  I  am  persuaded  that  it  is  useless 
for  Massachusetts  or  for  any  other  individual  State  to  send  its 
agents  to  future  expositions.  It  is  in  fact  a  mere  waste  of 
public  money.  The  end  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
means.  The  material  to  be  met  with  on  the  spot  is  not 
sufficiently  good  or  reliable,  and  the  field  of  operations  is 
too  remote  to  justify  the  great  expense  which  must  of  neces- 


32  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

sity  be  incurred  in  selecting  and  sending  to  it  a  complete 
corps  of  specialists.  The  national  government  only  could 
undertake  the  task ;  and  the  experiences  of  the  past  do  not 
justify  any  confident  expectations  for  the  future  from  that 
quarter.  Should  Massachusetts  or  any  other  state  conclude, 
therefore,  on  any  fature  occasion,  that  results  of  general 
importance  to  its  people  could  be  derived  from  a  careful  study 
of  the  exhibits  in  a  world's  fair,  it  must  abstain  from  attempt- 
ing too  much.  The  public  press  furnishes  everything  of  a 
general  and  superficial  character  that  any  state  commissioner 
could  procure.  The  art  of  "  cramming  "  is  by  it  carried  to 
perfection.  Beyond  this,  however,  a  real  want  exists  of 
exhaustive  studies  in  special  departments.  These,  state  com- 
missioners, if  selected  for  that  purpose,  could  supply  better 
than  any  other  agency.  Take,  for  instance  the  great  branch 
of  technical  and  artistic  education  which  has  already  been 
referred  to.  It  has  of  late  years  undergone  a  surprising 
development  in  Europe,  the  results  of  which  supplies  its  most 
interesting  and  instructive  feature  to  the  recent  Exposition. 
Jft  is  now  exciting  the  greatest  interest  among  all  thoughtful 
men  in  America,  and  promises  infinite  results  in  our  immediate 
future.  The  Massachusetts  commission  might  well  have  been 
organized  with  a  single  view  to  dealing  thoroughly  with  this 
department.  Had  it  been  so  organized,  the  end  in  view 
would  have  been  strictly  proportioned  to  the  means  at  com- 
mand. To  me,  personally,  from  an  early  iDeriod  after  my 
arrival  at  Vienna,  it  has  been  a  cause  of  deep  regret  that  this 
view  of  the  subject  was  not  earlier  taken.  The  experience 
came,  however,  too  late,  and  it  only  remains  to  see  that  it  is 
not  again  repeated. 

Meanwhile  the  American  Centennial  must  now  be  prepared 
for.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  those  who  are  to 
represent  the  Commonwealth  there  should  not  also  have  rep- 
resented it,  as  was  the  original  design,  at  Vienna ;  the  expe- 
rience would  have  been  invaluable.  Meanwhile,  if  the  results 
of  the  Vienna  commission  can  be  made  to  contribute  to  the 
successful  participation  of  the  State  in  the  Centennial,  the 
expense  incurred  in  sending  it  out  will  prove  a  most  fortunate 
outlay.  This  desired  result  can  be  secured  in  a  very  simple 
way.     A  timely  organization  must  be  efiected.     The  work  of 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ADAMS.  33 

preparing  the  contributions  of  any  community  for  their  proper 
display  in  an  international  exposition  is  now  a  profession  in 
itself,  which,  among  European  nations,  has  been  carried  to  a 
high  degree  of  development.  Almost  every  foreign  govern- 
ment which  participates  has,  among  its  agents,  men  whose 
experience  dates  back  to  the  Prince  Albert  original  of  1851, 
and  who  know  just  what  ought  to  be  done  and  exactly  how  to 
do  it.  The  organization  effected  by  these  men  is  as  perfect 
as  experience  and  familiarity  with  the  work  can  make  it.  No 
progress  in  this  direction  has  as  yet  been  made  in  America. 
At  Vienna,  our  authorities  showed  an  utter  inability  to  appre- 
ciate either  the  magnitude  and  complexity  of  the  undertaking, 
or  the  labor  and  devotion  necessary  to  bring  it  to  a  successful 
issue,  while  the  course  which  ought  to  have  been  pursued  was 
clearly  indicated  through  the  success  of  others.  Our  own 
failure  both  happily  and  forcibly  illustrated  almost  every  con- 
ceivable blunder  which  a  people  could  commit. 

The  work  of  preparation  for  1876  cannot  commence  too 
soon  in  the  several  states.  It  should  have  commenced 
already.  The  legislature  now  in  session  ought  at  once  to 
decide  upon  the  course  which  Massachusetts  as  a  state  pro- 
poses to  take.  If  it  decide  to  do  nothing,  then  that  decision 
should  be  final,  and  should  on  no  account  hereafter  be 
reversed  at  a  moment  so  late  that  action  will  be  synonymous 
with  failure.  If,  on  the  contrarj'^,  it  is  decided  to  enter  into 
the  affair  with  a  local  organization,  the  necessary  provision 
for  it  should  then  immediately  be  made.  Under  no  circum- 
stances should  our  action  be  marked  by  hesitation,  or  by  that 
tardiness  which  rendered  barren  the  mission  to  Vienna.  No 
action  at  all  is  better  than  action  after  the  opportunity  is 
lost.  The  simplest  organization  is  the  best,  and  to  be  effi- 
cient should  be  inexpensive.  No  cumbrous  system  of  salaried 
commissioners,  or  of  honorary  commissioners  with  perqui- 
sites, is  either  necessary  or  desirable.  Those  who  are  to 
represent  the  State  have  already  been  designated.  So  far  as 
any  state  organization,  as  such,  is  concerned,  their  duties 
should  be  merely  advisory ;  or,  if  it  is  thought  proper  or 
desirable  to  create  another  commission,  then  those  appointed 
upon  it  should  act  simply  as  a  board  of  unpaid  trustees  or 
directors,  performing   no   executive   duties   themselves,  but 


34  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

supervising,  counselling  or  authorizing  the  steps  taken  by 
him  upon  whom  responsibility  must  finally  rest.  Their  func- 
tion is  an  ornamental,  and  yet  a  most  important  one ;  they 
are  to  lend  weight  and  character  and  authority  to  the  occa- 
sion ;  their  names  should  inspire  that  faith  and  confidence 
in  the  undertaking  without  which  success  is  not  possible. 
To  carry  out  the  work  of  detail,  upon  which  everything 
depends,  a  single  secretary  to  the  commissioners  should  be 
appointed,  who  should  be  the  executive  officer  in  charge. 
He  should  receive  an  adequate  salary,  and  for  the  next  three 
years  his  whole  time  and  thought  should  be  devoted  to  the 
success  of  the  Massachusetts  department.  With  the  order- 
ing of  the  aflfair  as  a  whole,  he  would  have  no  connection ; 
his  duties  would  relate  simply  and  solely  to  the  share  of  his 
own  state.  No  ordinary  or  inexperienced  man  could  fulfil 
the  duties  of  the  position,  for  it  is  a  great  error  to  suppose 
that  it  is  one  either  of  holiday-work  or  newspaper  renown. 
On  the  contrary,  these  incidents  of  the  exposition  business 
are  for  others,  while  only  the  dry,  repulsive,  tedious  labor 
of  org^auization  and  of  detail  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  executive 
subordinate.  Upon  this  subject  many  useful  suggestions  will 
be  found  in  a  valuable  paper  supplied  to  us  by  Prof.  Thomas 
C.  Archer,  of  Edinburgh,  the  managing  head  of  the  museum 
at  that  place,  whose  long  experience  qualifies  him  to  speak 
with  the  highest  degree  of  authority.  This  report  was  pro- 
cured with  a  view  to  its  bearing  on  the  Centennial  Exposi- 
tion, and  is  ready,  with  others,  for  immediate  publication, 
should  the  legislature  so  order.  Meanwhile,  as  a  practical 
example  in  point,  the  English  commission  at  Vienna  was 
probably  as  good  an  illustration  as  could  be  found.  The 
means  placed  by  the  government  at  its  disposal  were  small, 
but  the  results  accomplished  were  all  that  could  be  desired. 
No  department  was  better  or  more  thoroughly  organized  than 
the  British.  The  Prince  of  Wales  was  the  president  of  the 
commission,  which  included  fourteen  other  persons,  all  of  the 
hiofhest  rank,  or  men  well  known  from  their  connection  with 
-business,  science  or  art.  These  constituted  a  species  of  board 
of  direction,  or  of  trustees,  acting,  of  course,  without  pay. 
The  secretary  of  the  commission  was  Mr.  Owen,  of  the  South 
Kensington  Museum ;  and  upon  him,  assisted  by  a  small  but 


REPORT  OV  MR.    ADAMS,  35 

very  efficient  staff  of  his  own  selection,  devolved  the  whole 
responsibility  and  labor  of  execution.  Mr.  Owen  was  a  very 
perfect  illustration  of  what  the  "  one-man  power "  ought  to 
be,  to  which  should  be  confided  the  work  of  organizing  a 
national  department  in  a  universal  exposition.  Naturally 
gifted  with  remarkable  executive  powers,  he  brought  to  his 
work  a  long  experience  and  a  great  capacity  for  silent  labor. 
He  fully  appreciated  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  his 
task,  and  devoted  himself  wholly  and  unreservedly  to  it. 
He  knew  perfectly  well,  both  what  had  to  be  done,  and  how  to 
go  to  work  to  do  it.  To  him,  therefore,  was  mainly  due  the 
very  remarkable  success  of  the  British  display.  In  him  a 
competent  agent  had  been  secured,  and  he  was  not  trammelled. 

If  Massachusetts  is  to  be  properly  represented  at  Phila- 
delphia, the  work  of  organization  should,  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible,  be  entrusted  to  a  similar  agent.  It  would  then 
be  for  him  to  acquaint  himself  thoroughly  with  the  industries, 
science  and  art  of  the  State,  and  to  put  himself  in  corre- 
spondence with  those  most  willing  and  competent  to  represent 
them.  It  would  devolve  upon  him  to  see  that  the  plan  of 
representation  was  perfect  in  all  its  parts  ;  and  to  be  assured 
of  this  he  must  acquaint  himself  with  the  experience  of  other 
expositions.  Such  a  labor  requires  high  qualities  of  patience, 
industry,  thorough  education,  and,  above  all,  great  powers  of 
organization.  It  calls  for  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  all  that 
Massachusetts  has  done,  and  with  what  she  is  now  doing. 
To  procure  such  an  agent  may  ndf  be  easy,  but  unless  he  is  pro- 
cured, and  that  in  good  time,  the  legislature  can  rest  assured 
that,  as  respects  confusion,  waste  of  money,  and  poverty 
of  result,  the  experience  of  Massachusetts  at  Philadelphia 
will  be  but  a  repetition  on  a  small  scale  of  that  of  the  United 
States  at  Vienna.  The  idea  that  such  an  undertaking  can  be 
brought  to  a  successful  result,  either  through  the  action  of 
any  committee,  or  by  means  of  mellifluous  oratory,  enthusi- 
astic rallies  and  patriotic  appeals,  is  wholly  deceptive.  It 
absolutely  requires  perfect  concentration,  silent  work  and 
exclusive  devotion. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  every  condition  exists 
necessary  to  make  a  decided  success  of  the  proposed  Philadel- 
phia Centennial.    The  court  pageant,  which  has  played  so  brill- 


36  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

iant  and  essential  a  part  in  its  great  European  prototypes  will, 
it  is  true,  necessarily  be  wanting.  The  mercantile  element, 
however,  which  has  proved  the  great  main-spring  of  all  recent 
expositions,  will  there  be  present  in  a  more  than  ordinary 
degree.  Throughout  the  civilized  world  America  is  known 
as  a  great  market ;  as  a  market  in  which  fabulous  prices  are 
paid,  especially  for  those  things  which  are  rich  or  rare. 
Accordingly,  all  the  leading  producers  of  the  world,  whether 
of  objects  of  utility  or  of  art,  will  wish  to  be  represented. 
They  will  come  with  every  conceivable  product  of  human 
skill,  and,  more  especially,  with  those  a  famiUarity  with  which 
is  in  itself  a  liberal  education,  and  the  production  of  which 
offers  well-nigh  unlimited  fields  for  American  development. 
The  zeal  and  public  spirit  with  which  the  city  and  state  most 
immediately  concerned  have  thrown  themselves  into  the  un- 
dertaking have  been  most  creditable,  and,  unaided,  should 
suflSce  to  secure  the  happiest  results.  All  that  is  needed  is  a 
thorough  concentration,  economy  and  direction  of  force. 
The  vulgar  ambition  of  unprecedented  bigness  should  be 
made  to  yield  to  an  educated  appreciation  of  excellence. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  the  devotion  of  those  who  have 
the  Centennial  in  charge  will  create  in  it  a  wide-spread  and 
sufficing  interest.  Mismanagement,  arising  from  ignorance, 
incompetence  and  jobbery, — a  repetition  of  the  Vienna  experi- 
ence,— will  be  the  great  danger  to  be  apprehended.  If  that 
experience  can  now  be  turned  to  an  immediate  profit  in  pre- 
venting its  own  recurrence,* we  shall  have  some  cause  not 
wholly  to  deplore  it.  This,  however,  can  only  come  from 
action,  both  intelligent  and  prompt,  on  the  part  of  the  vari- 
ous state  governments,  who  will  be  the  leading  participants. 
Should  this  be  deferred  to  the  last  moment,  and  then  hastily 
improvised,  those  who  rashly  implicate  themselves  will  proba- 
bly have  as  good  ultimate  cause  for  regret  as  did  the  vast 
majority  of  their  countrymen,  who,  during  the  last  summer, 
found  themselves  in  any  way  officially  connected  with  the 
national  fiasco  at  Vienna. 

CHAELES  FEANCIS  ADAMS,  Jr. 


TABLES  OF  EXHIBITS,  Etc. 


38 


EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 


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EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA. 


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41 


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EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA. 


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EEPOET   OF  MR.    ADAMS. 


43 


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General  and  Agricultural  Machinery,      . 
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The  Farm-house, 

National  Domestic  Industry,    .'        .        .        . 

Art  applied  to  Religion, 

Fine  Art  of  the  Present  Time, 
Total,          .        .        .        . 

xm. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

xvn. 

XVIII. 

XX. 

XXI. 

xxni. 

XXV. 

u 


EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA, 


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46 


EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA. 


No.  4. — Table  showing  the  Diplomas  or  Medals  awarded  to   the 
Exhibits  of  the  several  States  in  each  of  the  Groups. 


STATE. 

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Alabama, 

California, 

Colorado, 

Connecticut,  . 

District  of  Columbia,    . 

Georgia, 

Illinois, .... 

Indiana, 

Kansas,  .... 

Kentucky, 

Louisiana, 

Maine,    .... 

Massachusetts, 

Maryland, 

Michigan, 

Missouri, 

Mississippi,    .        .        . 

Nevada, 

New  York,     . 

New  Jersey,  . 

North  Carolina,     . 

Ohio,      .        .        .        . 

Pennsylvania, 

Rhode  Island, 

Tennessee, 

Texas,    . 

Virginia, 

West  Virginia, 

Vermont, 

Wisconsin,     . 

Miscellaneous, 

2 
9 
2 

23 
6 
1 

20 
5 
2 
8 

65 
1 

55 
4 
2 

33 

3 

1 

216 

15 
1 

86 

43 

12 
3 
1 
2 
1 
9 
2 

10 

1 

1 

2 

1 

5 

4 

2 
13 

1 

23 

2 

7 
4 
2 

1 

1 

4 

9 

1 

6 

2 

2 
9 
1 
15 
1 

4 

1 

55 

3 

21 
13 

4 
1 

1 

1 
1 

6 

1 

6 
1 

3 

7 

5 

2 
1 
4 
1 

66 
6 

10 
6 
2 

1 

2 

2 

1 
1 

4 
1 

3 

I 

1 

9 

7 

1 

9 

22 
3 

12 

4 

5 
18 

1 
34 

3 

1 

9 

1 

1 
149 
11* 

46 
25 

9 

1 

1 

1 

3 

5 

1 

9 

19 
3 

12 
3 

5 

18 

1 

83 

3 

1 

9 

1 

1 

136 

11 

38 

25 

9 

1 

1 

1 
3 
5 

Total,      . 

643 

5 

64 

156 

122 

2 

5 

21 

375 

349 

EEPORT   OF  MR.    ADAMS. 


47 


No.  5. — Table  showing  the  Number  of  Establishments  engaged  in 
each  of  thirty-two  of  the  Leading  Industries  of  Massachusetts,  as 
reported  in  the  United  States  Census  for  1870,  and  the  total  value 
of  their  Annual  Production,  with  the  Number  of  Exhibits  contrib- 
uted by  each  to  the  Vienna  Exposition. 


1 

1 

IZi 

Kind  of  Industry. 

Value  of  Products. 

Cm 

3   o 

II 
s  ^ 
'A 

1 

Boots  and  Shoes,       .... 

1,123 

186,565,445 

3 

2 

Cars, 

6 

2,408,827 

- 

3 

Carriages, 

326 

4,038,656 

- 

4 

Buttons, 

9 

511,175 

— 

5 

Agricultural  Implements, 

37 

1,033,590 

- 

6 

Cutlery, 

12 

1,617,904 

- 

7 

Cotton  Goods, 

191 

44,832,375 

1 

8 

Fire-arms, 

12 

865,481 

3 

9 

Furniture, 

324 

11,522,448 

- 

10 

Drugs  and  Chemicals,       .        .        . 

22 

1,800,399 

- 

11 

Edgetools  and  Axes, 

12 

969,224 

1 

12 

Glassware  and  Window  Glass, 

14 

2,371,000 

- 

13 

India-rubber  Goods,  .... 

82 

3,183,218 

1 

14 

Instruments,  Prof,  and  Scientific, 

12 

328,800 

2 

15 

Leather, 

138 

9,984,497 

2 

16 

Machinery, 

346 

18,354,052 

17 

17 

Men's  Clothing,         .... 

446 

20,212,407 

- 

18 

Musical  Instruments, 

60 

4,453,794 

1 

19 

Paper, 

95 

12,677,481 

- 

20 

Jewelry, 

59 

2,342,025 

- 

21 

Prints, 

11 

17,325,150 

- 

22 

Paper  Collars, 

9 

997,000 

- 

23 

Saddlery  and  Harness, 

247 

1,503,994 

- 

24 

Plated  Ware, 

37 

1,012,100 

- 

25 

Nails  and  Tacks,       .... 

43 

5,285,244 

3 

26 

14 

4,869,514 

- 

27 

Watches, 

3 

1,281,160 

- 

28 

Whips  and  Canes,    .... 

38 

•    604,367 

- 

29 

Wire, 

6 

2,354,672 

- 

30 

Woodenware, 

25 

588,402 

1 

31 

Wooden  Goods, .        .        ... 

182 

89,489,242 

2 

32 

Worsted  Goods,         .... 

36 

8,280,541 

- 

3,796 

$313,514,184 

37 

48  EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA. 


LIST  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  EXHIBITOES. 


Group  I. 

Mining,  Quakrting  and  Metallurgy. 

No  Exhibits. 

Group  II. 

Agricultube,  Horticulture  and  Forestry. 
No  Exhibits. 

Group  III. 

Chemical  Industry. 

1.  Morse  Bros.,      ....    Canton,    .        .  Stove  Polish." 

2.  Hauthaway  &  Sons,  .        .        .    Boston,     .        .  Leather  Dressings. 

3.  Nye,  W.  F.,        .        .        .        .    New  Bedford,  .  Oils. 

Group  IV. 

Substances  of  Food  as  Products  oe  Industry. 

1.  Underwood,  Wm.,  &  Co., .        .    Boston,         .    Canned  Articles. 

2.  Baker,  Walter,  &  Co.,       .        .    Boston,         .    Chocolate  and  Cocoa. 

Group  V. 

Textile  Industry  and  Clothing. 

1.  Blackinton,  S.,  &  Sons,     .        .    N.  Adams,    .    Cassimeres, 

Exhibited  by  Pomeroy  &  Plummer,  New  York. 

2.  Bigelow  Carpet  Co., .        .        .     Clinton,         .     Carpets. 

Exhibited  by  W.  &  J.  Sloane,  New  York. 

3.  Brewer,  Gardner,  &  Co.,  .        .    Boston,         .    Shirtings. 

4.  Schayer  Brothers,      .        .        .    Boston,         ,    Boots  and  Shoes. 

(See  Group  VI.) 

6.  Neil,  Mrs.  J.  G.,         ...     Cambridge,  .    Feather  Wreath. 

6.  Lilly,  Young,  Pratt  &  Brackett,    Lynn,    .        .    Shoes. 

7.  Walker,  J.  H.  &  G.  M.,      .        . .  Worcester,    .    Boots. 


REPOET   OF   MR.    ADAJMS. 


49 


Group  VI. 

Leather  and  India-eubbeb  Industry. 

1,  Upton,  Franklin  &  Co., .        .    Boston,     .        .     Sole  Leather. 

2.  Scliayer  Brothers, .        .        .    Boston,     .         .     Alligator  Hides. 

Group  Vn. 


1.  American  Tack  Co., 

2.  Barny,  E.  H., . 

3.  Douglas  Axe  Manuf.  Co., 

4.  Dunbar,  Hobart  &  Wliidden, 

5.  Field,  A.,  &  Sons,  . 

6.  Henshaw,  Edward, 

7.  Moulton,  E.  S.,       .        .        . 

8.  Nichols,  F.  W.,       .        .        .    Boston,     . 

9.  Tower,  Geo.  W.,    .        .        .     Cambridgeport, 
10.  Sherman,  W.  B.,     .        .        .    Boston,     . 


Metal  Industry. 

.    Boston,     . 

.     Springfield, 
Boston, 
So.  Abington, 
Taunton,  . 
Boston, 
Chelsea,    . 


Tacks  and  Brads. 

Skates. 

Axes. 

Tacks  and  Nails. 

Tacks  and  Nails. 

Shoe  Findings. 

Pipe  Tongs. 

Hinge. 

Pipe  Tools  and  Dies. 

Spades  and  Shovels. 


Group  Vni. 


1.  Sturtevant,  B.  F.,  . 

2.  Parks,  A.  S.,  . 


Wood  Industry. 

.    Boston,     .        .     Wood  for  Shoe-pegs. 
.    Winchendon,    .     Water-pails. 


Group  IX. 

Stone,  Earthenware  and  Glass  Industry. 
No  Exhibits. 

Group  X. 

Small  Ware  and  Fancy  Goods. 
No  Exhibits. 

Group  XI. 

Paper  Industry  and  Stationery. 
No  Exhibits. 

Group  XII. 


Graphic  Arts  and  Industrial  Drawing. 
1.  Prang,  L.,  &  Co.,   .        .        .    Boston,    .        .    Chromo-Lithographs. 


50 


EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 


Group  XHI. 


General  and  Agkicultural  Machinery. 


1.  Ashcroft,  E.  H.,        .        .        . 

2.  Avery,  J  G.,    . 

3.  Bigelow,  H.  H., 

4.  Dodge,  Theo.  A.,     . 

5.  Eames,  Bigelow  &  Co.,   . 

6.  Evans,  A.  D.,   .        .        .        . 

7.  Excelsior  Gas  MacMne  Co.,    . 

8.  Hall,  Thomas, .        .        .        . 

9.  Kiiapp  Dovetailing  Mach.  Co., 

10.  Lamb  Knitting  Machine  Co.,  . 

11.  Morse  Twist  Drill  Co.,    . 

12.  Raddin,  J.  G.,  . 

13.  Stephens, — ,    .        .        .        . 

14.  Townsend,  H.  E.,     .        . 

15.  Whitney,  Baxter  D., 

16.  Witherby,Rugg&  Richardson, 

17.  Ferguson,  — ,  .- 


Boston,     .        .  Steam-fittings. 

Afterwards  exhibited  in  British  Department. 


Spencer,  . 
Worcester, 
Cambridge, 

Framingham, 
Boston,     . 

Warren,   . 

Northampton, 

Northampton, 


Lynn, 

Boston,     . 
Winchendon, 
Worcester, 
Roxbury, . 


.  Wool-spinner. 
.  Heel  Machinery. 
McKay  Shoe  Mach'ry. 

Not  examined  by  the  Jury. 

.  Wheels. 

.  Covered  Shuttles.* 

.  Gas  Machines. 
Vise. 

Dovetailing  Machine. 
Chicopee  Falls,  Knitting  Machines. 
New  Bedford,  .  Twist  Drills. 

.  Carriage  Wheels. 

.  Vise.f 

.  Shoe  Machinery. 

.  Wood-work'g  Mach'y. 

.  Wood-work'g  Mach'y. 

.  Sheep-shear'g  Mach.f 


Geoup  XIV. 

Philosophical  Surgical  Instruments. 

1.  Lowe,  N.  M., .        .        .        .  Boston,     .        .  Hygrodeik. 

2.  Spare,  John,.        .        .        •  New  Bedford,  {HyP^f^^^o^^^^^^^ 


Group  XV. 

Musical  Instruments. 
1.  Mason  &  Hamlin  Organ  Co.,  .  Boston,     . 


Organs. 


1.  Smith  &  Wesson,     . 

2.  U.  S.  Armory,  . 

3..  U.  S.  Cartridge  Co., 


Group  XVI. 

The  Art  of  War. 
.  Springfield, 
.  Springfield, 
.  Lowell,     . 


.  Revolvers. 
.  Arms,  &c. 
.  Metallic  Cartrid2:es. 


Group  XVII. 

The  Natt. 
No  Exhibits. 


*  la  official  catalogue,  but  not  exhibited.         t  Not  in  catalogue,  but  exhibited. 


EEPORT   OF  MR.    ADAMS.  51 

Group  XVIII. 

Civil  Enoineeking,  Public  Wokks  and  Akchitecture. 

{Models  of  plates  and 
anchors    for    floor- 
timbers. 
2.  Brackett,  E.  A.,      .        .        .    Winchester,     .    Fishway. 

Group  XIX. 

The  Private  Dwelling-house,  its  Inner  Arrangement  and 
Decoration. 
No  Exhibits. 

Group  XX. 

The  Farm-house,  its  Arrangements,  Furniture  and  Utensils. 
1.  Appleton,  F.  H.,    .        .        .    West  Roxbury,  .    Plan  of  model  farm. 

"Group  XXI. 

National  Domestic  Industry. 
No  Exhibits. 

Group  XXH. 

Exhibition  showing  the  Organization  and  Influence  of  Museums 
of  Fine  Art  as  Applied  to  Industry. 

No  Exhibits. 

Group  XXIII. 

Art  Applied  to  Religion. 
No  Exhibits. 

Group  XXIV. 

Objects  of  Fine  Arts  of  the  Past,  Exhibited  by  Amateurs  and 

Owners  of  Collections. 

No  Exhibits, 

Group  XXV. 

Fine  Arts  of  the  Present  Time,  Works  Produced  since  the  Second 

London  Exhibition  op  1862. 
1.  Way,  C.  Granville,        .        .    Boston,    .        .    Landscape  Painting. 


52 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


LIST  OF  AWAEDS. 


Massachusetts    Exhibition. 

Grand  Diplomas  of  Honor. 

1.  The  State  of  Massachusetts,  for  valuable  Repoi'ts  and  Documents,  and 

for  the  enterprise  shown  by  its  organized  personal  representation 
at  Vienna. 

2.  The  City  of  Boston,  for  its  full  and  complete  illustration  of  its  School 

System  and  Schools. 


1. 

2. 
3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 


Avery,  John  G., 
Bigelow,  Horace  H., 
Blackinton,  S.,  &  Sons, 


Medals  for  Progress. 
.  Spencer,    . 
Worcester, 
N.  Adams, 

Exhibited  by- 
Warren,    . 
Northampton,  . 
Boston, 


Excelsior  Gas  Machine  Co. 

Hall,  Thomas,  . 

Howe,  Dr.  S.  G., 

Knapp  Dovetail'g  Machine  Co.,  Northampton, 

Lilly,  Young,  Pratt  &  Brackett,  Lynn, 

Mason  &  Hamlin  Organ  Co.,   .  Boston, 

Morse  Twist  Drill  Co.,      .        .  New  Bedford, 


Prang,  L.,  &  Co., 
Smith  &  Wesson, 
Sturtevant,  B.  J., 
Whitney,  Baxter  D., , 


.  Boston, 
.  Springfield, 
.  Boston, 
.  Winchendon, 


Continuous  Wool-sp. 
Heel  Machinery. 
Fancy  Cassimeres. 

Pomeroy  &  Plummer,  N.  T. 

Appar.  for  mak.  gas. 
Parallel  Bench  Vise. 
Pub.  for  Blind. 
Dovetailing  Mach. 
Boots  and  Shoes. 
Cabinet  Organs. 
Incre'se  Twist  Drills. 
Chromo-Lithogr'phs. 
Revolvers. 
Wood  for  Shoe-pegs. 
Wood-w'k'g  Mach'y- 


1.  United  States  Armory, 

2.  Baker,  Walter,  &  Co., 

3.  Blackinton  &  Co., 

4.  Barny,  E.  H.,     . 

5.  Brewer,  Gardner,  &  Co.,  . 

6.  Brewer  &  Tileston,  . 

7.  Hauthaway,  C.  L.,  &  Sons, 

8.  Lamb  Knitting  Machine  Co., 

9.  Marcon,  Jules,  . 

10.  Mason,  Luther  Whiting,  . 

11.  Parks,  A.  S.,      . 

12.  Ross,  Joseph  L., 


Medals  for  Merit. 

Springfield,       .  Arms  &  Ammunit'n. 
Bnstn  /  Chocolate  and  Cocoa 

\     preparations. 
North  Adams,  .  Cassimeres. 

Exliibited  by  Pomeroy  &  Plummer,  N.  Y. 

Springfield,      .  Club  Skates. 

Boston,     .        .  Fine  "  G.  B."  Shirt'gs. 

Boston,     .        .  School  Publications. 

Boston,     .        .  Leather  Dressings. 

Chicopee  Falls,  Hand-knitting"  Mach. 
f  Geognostic    Map    of 
\     the  World. 
f  System  of  Instruction 
\     in  Music. 

Winchendon,    .  Amer'n  Water-pails. 

Boston,     .        .  School  Furniture. 


Boston, 


Boston, 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ADAMS. 


53 


13.  Bigelow  Cai-pet  Co., 

14.  Stephens,  — ,     ■    g.  • 

15.  Townsend,  H.  E.,      . 

16.  Underwood,  Wm.,  &  Co.,.  ■      . 

17.  United  States  Cartridge  Co.,     . 

18.  United  States  Armory, 

19.  Walker,  Q.  H.  &  G.  M.,    . 

20.  Witherby,  Rugg  &  Richardson, 


Clinton,    .        .  Carpets.- 

Exhibited  by  W.  &  J.  Sloane,  New  Yorlc. 

.  Vises. 

.  Shoe  Macliinery. 

r  Canned  Fruits,  Fish, 

\     V'getab's  &  Meats. 

.  Metallic  Cartridges. 

.  Gunstocks. 

,  Boots. 

.  Wood-w'kino;  Mach. 


Boston,     . 
Boston, 

Lowell,     . 
Springfield, 
Worcester, 
Worcester, 


Medals  foe  Co-operators. 
1.  Felt,  Luther  W.,  with  J.  G.  Avery,  Spencer. 


5.  Lowell  Institute, 

6. 

7. 


Diplomas  of  Merit  or  Honorable  Mention. 

Boston,  .  (Samples  of  Tacks  & 
\     Brads.  [Nails. 

So.  Abington,  .  Samples  of  Tacks  &; 
.  Sheep-shear'g  Mach. 
C  Shoe  Tools  and  Sam- 
\     pies  of  Pegs. 

Boston, 


1.  American  Tack  Co., . 

2.  Dunbar,  Hobart  &  Widden, 

3.  Ferguson,  — ,    . 

4.  Henshaw,  Edward,    . 


Roxbury, 
Boston, 


/  Disseminat'n  &  Pro- 
\     motion  of  Science. 

Newton,  the  town  of.  School  Reports  and  Photographs  of  Buildings. 

Nichols,  F.  W., .        .        .        .  Boston,     .        .  Wall  Desk. 

„     •       ^-^  _  -NT       T>  j^     1    r  Sewing-machine  "and 

8.  Nye,  W.  F.,       .        .        .        .  New  Bedford,  ■{      „^   °,  ^„ 

''  V     Watch  Oil. 

9,  Shattuck,  W.  G.,       .        .        .  Boston,     .        .  Sch'l  Desks  &  Seats. 

10.  Worcester,  city  of, 'School  Reports  and  Photogxaphs  of  Buildings. 

11.  N.  B.  Sherman,.        .        .        .Boston,     .        .  Shovels  and  Spades. 


Diplomas  of  Honor,   . 

2 

Medals  of  Progress,   . 

.     14 

Medals  of  Merit, 

.       '.         .     20 

Diplomas  of  Merit,     . 

.     11 

Medal  for  Cooperators, 

.      1 

Total  Awards, 

.    48 

54  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


EEPOET  OF  MR.  HILL. 


The  undersigned,  appointed  an  Associate  Commissioner  on 
the  part  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  to  the  Exposition  held 
at  Vienna,  is  directed,  by  tlie  terms  of  his  commission,  to 
report  to  the  next  legislature.  In  conformity  with  this  duty, 
he  begs  to  submit  the  following : — 

Under  the  arrangement  made  between  the  writer  and  his 
associates,  thg  general  organization  and  conduct  of  the  Com- 
mission in  Vienna  was  undertaken  by  the  Chief  Commissioner, 
and  the  undersigned  was  charged  with  the  special  duty  of 
examining  the  details  of  the  Exposition.  This  Report  will 
ther^efore  be  principally  devoted  to  a  description  of  this  Ex- 
position, a  consideration  of  its  relation  to  the  productive 
industries  of  the  world,  and  the  proper  lessons  that  we  should 
draw  from  it  as  citizens  of  Massachusetts. 

The  writer,  having  received  his  commission  on  the  31st  day 
of  March,  1873,  took  passage  from  Boston  by  steamer  of  the 
12th  of  April,  and  arrived  in  Vienna  on  the  11th  of  May, 
having  made  only  a  few  days'  delay  in  England,  to  examine 
some  of  the  large  manufacturing  establishments  of  that  coun- 
try. The  troubles  in  the  United  States  Commission  had  but 
a  few  days  before  come  to  a  head,  and  everything  connected 
with  our  portion  of  the  Exposition  was  in  a  state  of  disor- 
ganization and  confusion. 

Mr.  Jackson  S.  Schultz,  appointed  by  our  government  to  suc- 
ceed our  former  Chief  Commissioner,  arrived,  however,  upon 
the  15th  of  May.  The  writer  considered  it  his  first  duty  to 
offer  his  services  to  Mr.  Schultz,  in  case  he  could  thus  serve 
the  interests  of  any  Massachusetts  citizens,  or 'advance  the 
badly  delayed  exhibition  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Schultz, 
however,  undertook  his  work  with  the  help  of  a  small  num- 


EEPORT   OP   3IR.    HILL.  55 

ber  of  the  assistant  United  States  Commissioners,  whom  he 
selected  at  Vienna,  and,  with  his  well-known  vigor,  advanced 
it  much  more  rapidly  than  could  have  been  expected. 

In  this  connection,  the  writer's  knowledge  of  the  facts 
makes  it  proper  for  him  to  speak  of  the  services  of  Professor 
E.  N.  Horsford,  of  Cambridge,  in  this  State,  who,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  scientific  commission  of  the  United  States,  was 
present  in  Vienna,  and  who  gave  himself  unsparingly  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Chief  Commissioner.  Much  of  the  progress 
which  was  made,  both  in  the  preparation  of  the  exhibits  and 
in  the  organization  of  committees,  juries,  etc.,  was  due  to  his 
efforts.  Massachusetts  exhibitors  especially  are  indebted  to 
him  for  attention  to  their  interests. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  writer,  Mr.  Frank  Millett,  the 
secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission,  who  had  been 
despatched  by  Mr.  Adams  to  Vienna,  had  secured  proper 
rooms  for  the  use  of  the  Commission.  These  rooms  were  at 
once  taken  possession  of,  and  the  Commission  was  organized 
and  immediately  entered  upon  the  duties  assigned  to  the 
different  members. 

As  has  been  said,  it  was  a  principal  duty  of  the  undersigned 
to  study  the  details  of  the  Exposition,  and,  therefore,  with  the 
exception  of  such  attendance  as  was  necessary  at  the  office 
of  the  Commission,  and  a  week  devoted  to  the  Patent  Con- 
gress, of  which  mention  will  be  made  hereafter,  his  whole 
time  at  Vienna  was  spent  on  the  grounds. 

Upon  entering  upon  the  study  of  the  Exposition,  the  first 
points  which  engaged  attention  were  those  relating  to  the 
general  plan  of  the  buildings  and  their  inclosure.  This 
matter  seems  to  have  received  a  great  deal  of  thought  on  the 
part  of  the  Austrian  authorities,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  they 
settled  it  in  a  way  perfectly  satisfactory  to  a  majority  of  vis- 
itors ;  and,  in  fact,  it  is  not  easy  of  solution  in  an  exposition 
so  large  as  this.  The  French  Exposition  of  1867  was  built 
in  the  form  of  an  ellipse,  in  which  the  different  nations  occu- 
pied segments,  whose  separating  lines  radiated  from  a  com- 
mon centre,  while  the  different  classes  or  groups  of  exhibits 
in  the  different  nations  were  placed  in  the  same  ring  or  circle. 
Thus,  in  passing  from  the  centre  outward,  the  visitor  was 
always  among  the  products  of  the  same  nation,  but  went 


56  EXPOSITION"  AT   VIENNA. 

from  one  class  to  another.  In  moving  around  the  centre  on 
any  given  circle,  he  was  always  in  the  same  group  or  class, 
but  went  from  one  nation  to  another.  Admirable  as  this 
plan  was  in  theory,  grave  objections  were  found  in  practice. 
First,  it  was  found  impossible  to  adjust  properly  either  the 
space  devoted  to  each  nation,  or  the  relative  space  occupied 
by  different  groups  in  each  nation.  Moreover,  the  building, 
arranged  in  this  form,  could  only  be  lighted  from  above,  and 
by  experience  it  has  been  found  very  difficult  to  make  roofs 
so  lighted  water-proof,  when  only  erected  for  temporary  pur- 
poses. Lastly,  to  the  majority  of  visitors,  the  arrangement 
described  is  extremely  confusing,  on  account  of  the  impossi- 
bility of  keeping  the  points  of  the  compass,  and  of  finding 
desired  places  of  exit,  after  circulating  through  the  curves  of 
the  exhibition  building.  All  these  defects  would  have  been 
greatly  exaggerated,  had  the  plan  of  the  Paris  Exposition 
been  repeated  at  Yienna,  owing  to  the  vastly  greater  size  of 
the  latter  exhibition,  which  was  nearly  four  times  that  of  the 
former. 

The  Austrian  authorities  decided  to  abandon  the  idea  of. 
the  association  of  like  groups  in  the  different  nations,  except 
in  certain  special  cases, — as  fine  arts,  machinery,  etc.,  which 
were  placed  in  buildings  by  themselves, — and  adopted  the  plan 
of  comparatively  narrow  buildings,  lighted  from  the  side,  in 
which  the  only  aim  was  to  place  the  products  of  each  nation 
by  themselves.  The  main  building,  or  industrial  palace, 
consisted  of  a  hall  three  thousand  feet  long  and  eighty-three 
feet  wide ;  and,  to  give  additional  space,  this  was  crossed  by 
seventeen  transepts,  averaging  five  hundred  feet  long  by  fifty- 
one  feet  wide.  Parallel  with  this  main  building,  there  was 
erected  a  machinery  hall,  twenty-six  hundred  and  fifty-one 
feet  long,,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  wide.  Be- 
yond these  were  erected  another  series  of  buildings  for  pict- 
ures, statuary  and  other  works  of  art.  This  arrangement 
of  comparatively  narrow  buildings,  while  it  gave  an  opportu- 
nity of  lighting  from  the  sides  by  windows  under  the  roof, 
added  very  largely  to  the  cost,  on  account  of  the  great  extent 
of  wall  in  proportion  to  the  space  inclosed.  It  also  rendered 
the  Avork  of  one  who  wished  to  trace  any  particular  branch 
of  production   through   different   nations   very   difficult,   by 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HILL.  57 

reason  of  the  distances  which  separated  them.  This  difficulty 
was  again  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  the  original  buildings 
proving  much  too  small,  between  nearly  all  the  transepts 
covered  courts  were  built ;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  other 
large  buildings  were  erected  by  several  governments,  in  which 
a  portion  of  their  groups  or  classes  of  exhibits  were  dis- 
played. It  thus  became  a  serious  work,  even  for  those  most 
familiar  with  the  Exposition,  and  to  all  others  a  hopeless  task, 
to  trace  a  single  class  of  productions  through  the  space  of 
the  different  nationalities. 

Another  great  objection  to  the  arrangement  of  buildings 
adopted  was  the  utter  absence  of  that  impressiveness,  which 
arises  from  general  effects.  Had  the  buildings  been  so 
designed  as  to  inclose  the  .great  mass  of  exhibits  under  one 
roof,  and  bring  them  all  in  sight  at  one  time,  the  Exhibition 
would  have  been  wonderfully  more  grand  and  interesting  than 
it  was.  As  arranged,  it  was  only  to  those  who  spent  a  long 
period  in  daily  examination  of  the  various  transepts,  courts, 
rooms,  buildings,  "annexes,"  special  exhibits,  etc.,  that  its 
vastness  became  apparent.  The  majority  of  visitors,  who 
came  for  a  few  day^  and  went  away  again,  never  saw  one-half 
of  the  various  places  of  exhibition,  and  got  so  confused  an 
idea  of  what  they  did  visit  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
associate  the  special  rooms,  halls,  etc.,  with  the  nations  which 
occupied  them,  or  to  understand  the  relations  of  their  con- 
tents to  those  of  other  neighboring  apartments. 

If  it  could  be  decided,  before  the  erection  of  the  main 
edifice,  what  space  in  the  whole,  and  what  in  each  group  or 
class  of  objects  each  nation  would  require,  the  construction  of 
proper  buildings  would  be  much  simplified.  But  this  has  been 
found  impossible,  and  in  all  the  later  exhibitions  the  demand 
by  most  of  the  leading  nationalities  has,  at  the  last  moment, 
been  found  greater  than  the  space  allotted,  and  they  have  been 
forced  to  place  a  considerable  portion  of  their  articles  of  ex- 
hibition in  specially  erected  buildings,  entirely  separated  from 
their  proper  association  with  objects  of  the  same  kind,  and 
from  others  from  the  same  country.  Thus,  at  Vienna,  the 
American  exhibit  of  agricultural  implements — the  finest,  in 
some  respects,  in  the  exhibition  ground — was  placed  in  a 
building,  erected  for  the  purpose,  behind  the  general  agricult- 


58  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

ural  buildings  of  the  western"  European  nations.  In  an  ob- 
scure place,  of  special  interest  to  only  a  fraction  of  the  visit- 
ors, it  was  entirely  unseen  by  the  great  mass,  to  whom  it 
would  have  been  a  revelation  of  our  mechanical  skill  and  taste, 
had  their  attention  been  drawn  to  it  by  finding  its  exhibits 
before  them  while  examining  the  other  departments  in  one 
common  building.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  German 
school  system,  of  considerable  portions  of  the  Swiss  exhibi- 
tion, of  the  French,  of  part  of  the  Russian,  etc. 

The  most  important  points  in  designing  a  building  for  the 
purpose  of  an  exhibition  would  seem  to  be, — 

First,  the  study  of  some  water-tight  arrangement  for  light- 
ing from  above,  by  what  are  called  monitor  roofs,  or  other- 
wise, which  would  enable  the  architect  to  cover  in  as  large  a 
space,  both  in  length  and  breadth,  as  he  should  see  fit,  in  one 
open  area,  uninterrupted  with  corners  or  angles  to  break  the 
view. 

Second,  an  arrangement  of  exhibits  by  which  the  different 
nations  should  have  all  their  goods  together,  so  that  what  each 
had  contributed  to  the  Exposition  could  be  at  once  seen,  and 
and  an  idea  easily  gained  of  the  character  and  quality  of  its  pro- 
ductio*ns  in  each  group. 

Third,  the  arrangement  should  be  such  that  the  exhibits  in 
the  different  groups,  if  not  directly  contiguous  to  those  of  the 
same  groups  belonging  to  the  next  nation,  should  at  least  be 
disposed  in  the  space  of  each  nation  according  to  some  simple 
and  easily  understood  rule,  so  that  the  position  of  any  particu- 
lar class  could  be  found  among  their  exhibits. 

Finally,  it  would  be  a  great  advantage  if,  while  the  roof 
and  its  supports  were  erected  in  good  season,  the  buildings 
were  so  constructed  that  the  size  could  be  readily  extended  in 
certain  directions,  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  an  unexpected 
amount  of  goods  from  any  nation  without  forcing  that  nation 
to  break  up  the  proper  order  and  classification  of  its  exhibits 
by  putting  a  part  of  them  in  separate  buildings. 

In  drawing  attention  to  these  points,  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that,  while  an  exhibition  like  this  is  of  much  interest  and  value 
to  specialists,  men  of  science,  manufacturers  and  merchants, 
its  great  usefulness  lies  in  its  character  of  an  instructor  of 
the  masses. 


REPOET   OF   MR.    HILL.*  59 

The  great  majority  of  visitors  are  only  temporary,  and 
therefore  to  render  an  exposition  of  its  greatest  value  to  such 
people  it  must  be  so  arranged  as  to  enable  them  to  make 
comparisons  easily  and  clearly. 

Undoubtedly,  the  Vienna  Exposition  was,  above  all  things, 
intended  as  a  means  of  education  to  the  Austrians  ;  but,  it  is 
safe  to  say,  that  of  all  the  Austrians  who  visited  it,  not  one 
in  a  hundred  went  away  with  any  clear  idea  of  its  vastness 
as  a  whole,  or  of  the  relative  richness  of  the  different  coun- 
tries, in  the  twenty-six  or  more  classes  into  which  it  was 
divided.  ^ 

In  regard  to  the  buildinsrs  themselves  and  the  material  of 
which  they  were  composed,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  in 
the  Prater  where  the  exhibition  was  held,  the  principal  erec- 
tions were  all  placed  on  piles.  The  walls  were  of  brick,  ap- 
parently very  heavy  and  covered  with  cement.  The  roof  was  a 
semi-circular  arch.  The  main  entrances  were  built  with  much 
regard  to  architectural  effect,  and  adorned  above  with  emblem- 
atic figures.  The  most  striking  portion  of  the  buildings  was 
the  huge  dome  which  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  length  of  the 
great  industrial  palace.  This  was  designed  by  Mr.  Scott 
Eussell,  and  was  a  really  extraordinary  undertaking.  It 
stood  on  a  circle  of  large  piers.  From  the  summit  of  these, 
angle-iron  beams  ran  up  towards  the  centre,  where  they  all 
rested  ao;ainst  an  iron  rinoj  which  received  their  thrust.  The 
ceiling  of  the  dome  was  attached  to  the  underside  of  these 
beams.  Its  base  was  eighty  feet  above  the  ground  and  three 
hundred  and  forty-eight  feet  across  ;  above,  it  opened  through 
the  ring  into  a  cylindrical  lantern,  one  hundred  feet  in  diame- 
ter and  thirty  feet  high,  and  from  that  into  a  smaller  lantern. 
The  whole  height  was  not  less  than  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  feet. 

The  portion  of  the  park  devoted  to  the  Exposition  included 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  On  these  were,  first,  the 
industrial  palace,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  running  east  and 
west,  having  its  seventeen  transepts  across  it,  and  its  great 
dome  in  the  midst.  Parallel  to  this  on  the  north,  and  distant 
from  it  about  five  hundred  feet,  was  the  machinery-hall. 
Between  these  two,  near  either  end,  were  large  wooden  build- 
ings, each  covering  somewhat  more  space  than  the  great  Coli- 


GO  EXPOSITIOISr   AT   VIENNA. 

« 

seum,  so  called,  lately  erected  in  Boston,  which  were  devoted 
to  agricultural  exhibits.  In  a  line  with  these,  and  between  the 
industrial  and  machinery-halls,  were  numerous  other  buildings, 
— some  erected  by  the  various  countries  to  display  their  surplus 
exhibits,  some  the  special  buildings  of  private  exhibitors. 

Beyond  the  end  of  the  industrial  palace  were  the  art 
buildings,  also  of  brick  and  stucco,  handsomely  decorated 
with  architectural  ornaments,  and  surrounded  with  arcades. 
In  the  fifty-two  rooms  of  these  buildings  were  displayed  some 
thirty-two  hundred  paintings  and  one  thousand  statues. 

Still  beyond  these,  an  arched  gateway  led  to  a  portion  of 
the  grounds  in  which  were  many  buildings  of  a  temporary 
nature,  some  illustrating  the  various  types  of  peasant  houses 
of  Eastern  Europe,  others  built  as  models  of  stables,  barns, 
etc.,  etc.  South  of  the  great  industrial  palace,  before  its 
front,  were  many  other  erections,  such  as  the  Persian  and  the 
Egj^ptian  palaces ;  the  Japanese  village,  of  which  the  very 
w^ood  was  brought  from  Japan ;  iron  buildings  ;  others  of 
artificial  stone ;  others  set  up  by  the  lighthouse  board,  the 
navy  department,  and  other  branches  of  the  Austrian  admin- 
istration. With  these  were  characteristic  buildings  of  almost 
every  nationality,  erected  as  restaurants.  Here  also  was  the 
palace  of  the  emperor  of  Austria,  and,  opposite  to  it,  the 
juries'  pavilion.  Altogether,  there  were  more  than  two  hun- 
dred buildings  within  the  iuclosure  of  the  Exposition  grounds. 
These  grounds  themselves  were  laid  out  in  squares  of  the 
finest  turf,  intersected  with  gravel  walks,  bordered  with  beds 
of  flowers,  and  dotted  with  ponds,  in  which  were  fountains. 
The  whole  was  arranged  with  that  taste  which  seems  natural 
to  the  Austrians. 

This  description  gives  but  a  feeble  idea  of  the  grounds  and 
buildings  of  the  Vienna  Exposition,  upon  which  the  Austrian 
government  expended  more  than  ten  millions  of  dollars,  and 
which  was  intended  to  be  by  far  the  most  complete  of  any 
that  has  been  held. 

Turning  from  the  buildings  to  the  articles  in  them,  the  first 
thing  to  be  noted  is  this  :  that,  contrary  to  the  general  im- 
pression in  America,  the  contributions  of  the  different  nations 
were  not  mere  irregular  collections  of  incidental  objects,  fur- 
nished by  parties  who  desired  to  advertise  themselves,  but, 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HILL.  61 

on  the  other  hand,  were  well  assorted,  and  generally  complete 
illustrations  of  the  industries  of  the  several  countries,  with 
one  unfortunate  exception.  We  believe  this  is  true  of  all  the 
principal  nations.  The  spirit  which  seems  to  have  animated 
them  is  well  illustrated  in  the  address  of  the  French  commis- 
sioners to  the  public  at  the  time  of  their  appointment.  After 
speaking  of  the  material  advantages  to  be  gained  from  this 
Exposition,  they  continue  : — 

"Beyond  these  material  advantages,  on  which  it  is  useless  to 
dilate,  so  obvious  are  they,  there  is  always  in  France  a  sentiment  to 
which  appeal  has  never  been  made  in  vain — that  of  patriotism. 
France  must  be  worthily  represented  at  the  universal  Exposition  in 
Vienna.  She  must  present  herself  there  in  a  manner  to  prove  that 
she  has  not  fallen  from  the  high  rank  which  belongs  to  her  in  the 
civilized -world,  and  that  on  the  morrow  even  of  the  dolorous  events 
which  have  lately  transpired,  she  is  ready  to  sustain  the  reputation 
she  has  acquired  in  the  arts — in  productions  where  intelligence  and 
modern  science,  taste,  invention  or  skilled  haud-labor  have  gained  a 
superiority  never  contested." 

In  this  spirit,  the  French  entered  into  the  Exposition,  and 
government  and  people  joined  in  making  it  in  fact  all  that 
this  address  indicated. 

It  is  but  fair  to  add,  that  the  spirit  of  the  other  leading 
nations  was  not  behind  that  of  the  French,  and  that  they 
made  a  good  and  general  display  of  their  various  industries, 
regardless  of  the  consideration  that  they  might  not  gain  for 
them  an  immediate  sale.  From  this  it  resulted  the  Exposi- 
tion was  in  reality  a  universal  exposition  of  the  world's 
industries,  and  that  the  visitor  could  there  study  the  present 
status  of  any  matter  in  which  he  was  interested, — in  every 
part  of  the  Old  World,  at  least. 

The  arrangements  of  the  exhibits  of  the  different  nations 
in  the  Exposition  was  simply  geographical.  Those  of  the 
New  World  being  at  the  extreme  western  end  of  the  various 
buildings,  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  at  the  eastern,  the  other 
countries  between,  according  to  their  geographical  positions. 
The  machinery  was,  as  has  been  said,  in  a  building  by  itself, 
but  the  exhibits  of  the  different  countries  were  there  arranared 
in  the  same  order.     The  agricultural  machinery  and  produc- 


62  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

tions  were  divided  between  the  two  buildings  appropriated 
to  them,  that  between  the  westerly  ends  of  the  main  and 
machinery  halls  to  the  western  European  nations,  the  other  to 
the  more  easterly.  Many  countries — as  Brazil,  the  United 
States,  China,  Japan,  etc. — displayed  what  they  had  of  agri- 
cultural productions  in  the  great  industrial  palace,  with  their 
other  exhibits.  The  purely  art-exhibitions,  including  paint- 
ings, statuary,  engravings,  etc.,  were  also  gathered  into  their 
own  group  of  buildings,  in  whose  fifty-two  rooms  those  of 
each  nation  were,  as  far  as  possible,  arranged  by  themselves. 
The  relative  space  occupied  by  the  different  countries  will 
be  found  in  the  notes  following  this  report.  The  number  of 
contributors  from  each  country,  as  represented  in  the  second 
edition  of  the  official  catalogue,  will  also  be  found  therewith, 
and  will  be  some  indication  of  the  relative  display  of  the 
different  countries.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  space 
occupied  is  not  always  an  indication  of  the  amount  of  exhibits, 
as  in  some  countries  they  were  vastly  more  crowded  than  in 
others ;  and  in  some,  as  the  United  States,  any  number  of 
duplicates  were  admitted,  while  in  others,  exhibitors  were 
confined  to  such  as  would  properly  illustrate  their  manufact- 
ures. The  number  of  exhibitors,  again,  has  little  to  do  with 
the  number  or  quantity  of  the  articles  exhibited,  very  much 
larger  and  more  varied  collections  being  sent  by  some  indi- 
viduals than  by  others.  Again,  in  some  countries,  as  the 
United  States,  the  exhibitors  were  all  individuals,  while  from 
others  it  was  often  the  custom  for  a  large  number  of  persons 
to  make  what  is  called  a  "  collective  exhibition."  Thus,  some 
of  the  French  silk  manufacturers  united  in  exhibition  of  their 
products,  covering  nearly  half  as  much  space  as  all  the  United 
States.  Also,  many  cities,  many  governmental  departments, 
many  colleges,  museums,  schools  of  agriculture,  etc.,  sent 
magnificent  collections.  JMany  even  fitted  up  large  buildings 
at  their  own  expense,  but  yet  count  only  for  a  single 
exhibitor.  Special  attention  should  be  given  to  this  mode  of 
exhibition,  which  secures  many  advantages  at  the  minimum  of 
expense.  The  system  is  calculated  to  induce  a  better  and 
more  complete  collection  of  the  class  of  productions  in  ques- 
tion. It  enables  the  parties  concerned  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  best  talent  in  the  arrangement.     The  importance  and  size 


REPOKT   or   MR.    HILL.  63 

of  the  collective  exhibition  gives  opportunity  for  display,  and 
draws  the  attention  of  the  public  to  it  in  a  way  that  the  indi- 
vidual exhibitors  could  not  separately.  Should  our  citizens 
take,  as  it  is  to  be  hoped  they  will,  a  prominent  part  in  the 
United  States  Centennial  Exposition,  this  plan  is  worth  con- 
sideration by  our  various  classes  of  manufacturers. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Commission,  one  of  the  first 
points  which  demanded  the  attention  of  its  members  was  the 
manner  in  which  they  could  best  fulfil  their  duty  in  respect  to 
the  examination  of  the  Exhibition,  and  their  report  upon  the 
same.  A  very  slight  acquaintance  with  the  Exposition  made  it 
sufficiently  evident  that  it  would  be  wholly  useless  to  attempt, 
personally,  a  detailed  examination  of  the  difierent  groups  of 
the  Austrian  classification.  How  utterly  impossible  the  enor- 
mous size  of  the  Exposition  rendered  this  undertaking,  is 
shown  by  the  work  of  the  juries.  Most  of  the  important 
groups  were  subdivided  among  various  sub-juries,  so  that  in 
fact  there  were  eighty-one  actual  parties  who  entered  upon 
the  jury-work.  These  juries  threw  themselves  into  their 
labors  with  the  utmost  energy,  yet  many  of  them  were  more 
than  two  months  in  the  examination  of  their  special  groups. 
Another  consideration  with  the  Commission  was  this  :  that  a 
valuable  examination  could  only  be  made  in  the  difierent 
groups  of  persons  who  were  specialists,  as  it  were,  and  who 
entered  upon  the  work  with  a  previous  knowledge  of  the  art. 
For  these  reasons  they  determined,  as  has  been  stated  in  the 
report  of  the  Chief  of  this  Commission,  to  employ  so  far  as 
they  could  find  them  at  hand,  and  as  far  as  the  appropriations 
of  the  State  would  permit,  persons  in  the  work  who  would 
answer  to  the  description  of  specialists  in  the  various  depart- 
ments. In  addition  to  the  reports  thus  engaged,  the  under- 
signed will  only  call  attention  to  some  general  considerations 
which  the  study  of  the  Exposition  suggested,  and  which 
seem  to  him  worthy  of  notice.  And  iirst,  of  the  compara- 
tive condition  of  the  arts  in  the  United  States  and  in  other 
countries.  On  this  point,  it  may  be  said  that  in  all  practical 
matters, — in  machinery,  in  agricultural  tools,  perhaps  in  the 
preparation  of  articles  of  food, — in  the  groups  from  V.  to 
XVIII.,  so  far  as  matter  is  concerned,  and  not  the  style  or 


64  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

taste,  including  textiles,  leather  and  rubber,  metal  and  wood 
industry, — in  manufacture  of  paper,  sugar,  and  the  thousand 
oth&r  useful  matters, — in  our  philosophical  and  surgical,  and 
in  musical  instruments, — we  appeared,  or  should  have  shown 
ourselves,  if  we  had  been  adequately  represented  in  this 
Exposition,  quite  on  a  par  with  any  other  people.  In  ma- 
chinery of  every  kind,  it  was  universally  conceded  that  our  col- 
lection, small  as  it  was,  and  lacking  in  every  direction  those 
labor-saving  inventions  so  familiar  to  us  at  home,  but 
unknown  abroad,  was  still  the  most  original  and  admirable 
display  in  the  machinery-hall.  Among  other  modes  of  improv- 
ing the  opportunities  of  the  Exposition  of  Paris  in  1867,  the 
British  government  sent,  as  they  did  also  to  Vienna,  a  commis- 
sion of  practical  artisans,  whose  rejDorts,  afterwards  printed, 
were  among  the  most  interesting  and  valuable  of  the  former 
exhibition.  As  a  result  of  their  examination  of  American 
machinery,  one  of  them  made  the  following  statement : — 

"  In  our  country  we  seldom  go  back  to  first  principles  in  invention. 
We  chng  to  some  parts  of  the  old  arrangements.  If  a  motion  has 
been  circular,  we  trj^  to  make  a  better  circular  motion  ;  if  horizontal, 
we  try  to  get  better  results  by  a  superior  horizontal  arrangement, 
but  seldom  think  of  throwing  to-  one  side  all  that  has  been  done. 
The  American,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  to  look  at  two  things — the 
means  at  his  command  and  the  end  to  be  attained ;  he  seldom 
troubles  his  head  with  the  laws  or  the  opinions  of  others." 

Another  of  the  same  artisan  commission  writes,  speaking 
of  the  Americans  ; — 

"  The  rough-and-ready  way  in  which  they  cast  aside  old  theories, 
the  boldness  with  which  they  start  out  on  a  new  and  untrodden  path, 
the  entire  confidence  they  have  in  themselves,  and  their  sagacitj^  in 
finding  out  what  is  to  be  done  and  doing  it — all  find  expression  in 
their  work.  *  *  *  JMaiiy  a  good  thing  rough-hewn  b}^  them  is 
destined  to  live,  and  influence  the  future  of  the  world." 

These  statements  are  quoted  because  they  are  very  admirable 
illustrations  of  the  character  of  our  inventive  talent,  and  because 
they  express  very  forcibly  what  was  constantly  said  both  by 


REPORT   OF  MR.    HILL.  65 

English  and  by  Germans  and  Austrians,  respecting  our  mechan- 
ical exhibitions  at  Vienna.  In  respect  to  our  display  of  agri- 
cultural implements,  it  was  very  strong  in  mowers  and  reap- 
ers and  very  weak  in  other  directions.  But  in  both  these 
important  machines  Americans  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied. 
The  contrast  between  them  and  those  of  other  countries  was 
very  marked.  The  lightness  and  strength,  the  convenience 
in  operating,  the  superior  workmanship,  were  all  acknowl- 
edged, and  have  resulted,  as  we  are  informed,  in  giving  to  the 
American  manufacturers  nearly  all  the  business  of  supplying 
the  agricultural  regions  of  Eastern  Europe. 

The  qualities  which  give  these  implements  their  superiority 
have  given  the  American-made  sewing-machines  the  same,  and 
they  are  sold  in  Europe  at  much  higher  prices  than  the  same 
styles  of  European  manufacture.  It  is  said  that  even  where 
American  companies  have  carried  to  Europe  American  machin- 
ery and  an  American  foreman  to  oversee  the  work,  that  they 
are  unable  to  produce  the  same  quality  of  machines  as  are  made 
in  America.  This  can  only  be  due  to  the  superior  character 
of  our  workmen,  a  superiority  arising  from  their  higher  intelli- 
gence, and  this  again  from  their  better  education.  In  the  opin- 
ion of  the  writer,  the  superior  character  of  these  machines  to 
those  of  European  manufacture  is  borne  out  by  that  of  many 
other  classes,  which  were  not  displayed  in  the  Exposition.  In 
many  departments  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  believe  we  should 
have  a  good  foreign  market  were  our  machines  better  known. 

In  the  great  departments  of  Group  I.,  mining,  quarrying  and 
metallurgy,  and  Group  11. ,  agriculture  and  forestry,  it  was  made 
evident  to  us  that  the  leading  nations  of  Europe  have  given  far 
more  attention  to  the  matter  of  scientific  education  than  we  have 
done,  and  the  exhibition  of  the  various  schools  of  mines,  of 
agriculture,  etc.,  were  among  the  most  striking  and  interest- 
ing portions  of  the  Exposition.  The  pursuit  of  agriculture  is 
to  us  in  Massachusetts,  of  course,  of  more  general  practical 
interest  than  that  of  mining,  and  more  attention  was  given  to 
the  subject,  and  as  a  result  of  our  observations  our  confidence 
in  the  advantages  of  a  scientific  education  as  a  foundation  for 
its  successful  pursuit  was  generally  strengthened.  A  special 
report  on  this  subject  has  been  prepared,  and  is  particularly 


66  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

recommended  to  the  attention  of  our  citizens.  In  the  depart- 
ment of  forestry,  most  striking  exhibitions  were  made, — the 
leading  schools,  forestry  associations  and  departments,  in  a 
number  of  instances  erecting  large  houses  in  the  rough  style 
of  the  forest  buildings  to  illustrate  this  work.  These  were 
filled  with  specimens  of  the  native  woods,  worked  and 
un worked,  of  the  various  articles  produced  from  the  wood 
in  the  forests  or  in  their  neighborhood,  samples  of  machinery 
and  tools  used,  and  especially  with  maps,  plans,  models  of 
dams,  slides,  rope-tramways,  and  all  the  means  of  illustrat- 
ing their  modes  of  carrying  on  their  work.  With  these 
were  numerous  books  on  the  subject  and  many  volumes  of 
written  reports,  showing  the  details  of  the  management. 
From  the  great  attention  given  by  the  Austrians  and  other 
older  nations  to  this  branch  of  industry,  we  should  do  well 
to  draw  a  lesson.  It  is  believed  that  if  the  State  would 
constitute  either  a  special  commission,  or  a  branch  of  the 
board  of  agriculture,  that  should  give  particular  attention  to 
the  subject  of  forestry,  should  examine  the  foreign  modes  of 
encouraging  arboriculture  and  making  it  pecuniarily  product- 
ive, and  should  aim  at  giving  popular  information  and  awak- 
ening popular  interest  on  the  subject,  it  would  be  vastly  to 
the  interest  and  advantage  of  the  Commonwealth. 

But  if  in  those  industries  which  tend  to  the  physical  comfort 
and  convenience  of  mankind  the  United  States  stood  as  high 
as,  and  in  many  respects  higher  than,  other  countries,  in  the 
Exposition,  it  was  far  otherwise  in  the  sphere  of  art,  both  in 
its  purer  conditions  of  painting  and  sculpture  and  in  its  appli- 
cation to  manufactures.  In  the  preparation  for  the  Exposi- 
tion in  this  country,  those  gentlemen  who  originally  had  the 
charge  of  our  interests  did  not,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
apparently  command  the  confidence  of  our  artists  nor  of  our 
manufacturers  who  depend  on  their  art  or  taste  to  give  value 
to  their  works,  sufficiently  to  persuade  them  to  send  their  pro- 
ductions to  Vienna.  Moreover,  a  single  walk  through  the  art- 
galleries  and  down  the  great  nave  of  the  industrial  palace,  in 
which  the  exhibits  of  the  applied  arts  were  generally  assem- 
bled, would  have  satisfied  the  most  doubting  that  if  we  had 
done  the  best  we  could  we  should  have  still  made  a  most  de- 
plorable failure  in  this  side  of  the  Exposition. 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HILL.  67 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  exhibits,  this  department  was 
made  the  most  prominent  of  the  whole.  Passing  by  the  art- 
galleries,  and  speaking  only  of  the  arts  in  their  applications 
to  industry,  the  whole  of  the  great  central  nave  of  the  main 
building  was  substantially  devoted  to  this  form  of  art.  With 
the  English,  the  most  magnificent  displays  were  made  of 
porcelain,  pottery  and  glass ;  and  the  cases  of  the  Mintons, 
Copelaud,  the  Worcester  works  and  Wedgwood  were  splendid 
illustrations  of  the  value  that  this  nation  sets  upon  this  work. 
Nor  were  the  French  behind  them.  The  porcelain  of  E. 
Colinot,  Deck  and  Jules  Harvey,  of  Cristofle,  Barbadienne 
and  others  ;  sustained  their  ancient  reputation.  It  is  said  that 
the  English  in  earlier  Expositions  were  much  astonished  and 
mortified  at  the  inferior  position  in  which  they  appeared  in 
comparison  with  the  French,  and  set  themselves  to  work  in 
earnest  to  introduce  a  better  and  higher  art  into  this  class  of 
work.  We  do  not  think  we  are  wrong  in  gaying  that  to-day 
they  show  in  this  department  a  more  varied  collection  of 
beautiful  forms,  a  more  original  taste,  and  a  better  application 
of  the  models  of  antiquity,  and  of  the  ideas  of  such  nations 
as  the  Indian  and  the  Japanese  and  others,  than  do  the 
French. 

In  artistic  metal-work  there  were  some  admirable  displays, — 
as  those  of  Elkington  and  Hancock,  in  the  English  depart- 
ment, of  Barbadienne  and  Cristofle  among  the  French.  Of 
the  work  of  the  latter  too  much  cannot  be  said.  Much  of  the 
painting  and  sculpture  of  the  French ,  though  powerful  and 
artistic,  is  morbid  in  its  character,  rioting  in  the  horrible  or 
the  sensual ;  but  in  this  metal-work  of  Cristofle's,  the  art  was 
of  the  purest  and  simplest  character,  taking  its  subjects  from 
the  most  common  objects  of  nature,  and  working  them  into 
the  ornamentation  of  the  material  with  a  simple  grace  as 
healthy  in  tone  as  it  was  artistic  in  character.  Both  English 
and  French  work  in  this  department,  and  measurably  also  in 
that  of  pottery  and  porcelain,  showed  very  distinctly  the 
influence  of  Japanese  art,  the  merits  of  which  they  incline 
to  adopt  without  taking  its  absurdities. 

In  furniture,  the  English  had  some  very  artistic  work. 
Their  manufacturers  employ  some  of  the  best  artists  to  pre- 


68  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

pare  designs  for  them.  The  simplicity  and  beauty  of  these 
are  very  far  removed  from  the  heavy  styles,  overloaded  with 
machine-made  ornaments,  which  we  too  generally  find  with 
us.  In  furniture,  the  Austrians  were,  however,  perhaps  of  all 
exhibitors,  the  strongest.  Their  forms  were  for  the  most 
part  very  simple,  and  their  great  efibrt  seemed  to  be  to  bring 
out  as  strongly  as  possible  the  natural  beauties  of  the  wood. 
Where  ornament  was  introduced,  it  was  in  the  form  of  inlay- 
ing, or  of  hand-carving.'  The  artistic  feeling  of  Europe 
seems  to  have  recognized  the  fact,  that  those  objects  alone 
are  really  beautiful  which  have  been  produced  by  hand-labor, 
and  by  the  individual  thought  and  taste  of  the  artist  applied 
to  each  individual  ornament. 

A  very  attractive  department  in  the  Austrian  section,  and 
one  to  which  they  devoted  much  attention,  was  that  of 
interior  decoration.  Many  small  rooms  were  fitted  up  by 
diflfcrent  artists,  and,  without  exception,  the  combinations  of 
colors  and  efiects  were  those  of  refined  and  cultivated  tastes. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  collections,  in  which  artistic 
feeling  had  scope  to  display  itself,  was  that  of  the  carpets, 
of  which  there  were  literally  hundreds  in  the  Exposition. 
Undoubtedly  the  East,  with  her  hand-made  work,  carried  the 
day  here,  and  of  the  Eastern  nations  the  Persians  were  per- 
haps the  most  perfect.  Equal  to  any  in  richness  of  effect, 
they  surpassed  in  the^  perfect  harmony  of  color.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  the  good  feeling  of  all  these  Eastern  nations 
leads  them  to  avoid  those  glaring  contrasts  of  color  and  star- 
ing patterns  which  are  too  common  in  our  windows ;  and  it 
was  noticeable  also  that  all  their  figures  had  a  perfectly  flat, 
effect.  The  apparent  projection  of  flowers,  fruit  and  geomet- 
rical figures,  looking  as  if  in  danger  of  tripping  the  foot  at 
each  step,  is  most  carefully  avoided.  The  English,  and  in  a 
measure  the  French,  shoAved  the  effects  of  a  study  of  these 
Eastern  productions,  and  the  best  work  of  the  English  cer- 
tainly was  in  styles  borrowed  from  them. 

The  Austrians  were  still  closer  students  of  these  Eastern 
nations,  and  much  of  their  display  could  hardly  be  distin- 
guished from  its  original. 

Of  cast-metal  artistic  work  there  was  an  immense  quantity 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HILL.  69 

in  the  Exposition,  not  only  in  bronze,  but  in  iron.  Special 
attention  is  called  to  this  latter  material,  because  its  manage- 
ment has  become  so  well  understood  in  its  application  to  this 
purpose,  that  it  produces  as  clear  and  fine-surfaced  castings 
as  bronze,  and  in  this  way  good  works  of  art  can  be  cheaply 
supplied. 

The  rooms  of  the  fine-art  buildings,  many  as  they  were, 
were  always  filled  with  crowds  of  people.  The  number  of 
visitors  here  was  the  best  evidence  of  the  general  interest 
taken  in  Europe  in  the  arts.  The  report  which  we  have 
caused  to  be  prepared,  to  present  with  this,  will  say  all  that 
is  necessary  on  this  point. 

These  few  lines  have  been  devoted  to  a  description  of  the 
art-manufactures  exhibited  at  Vienna,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
attempting  to  give  any  idea  of  their  artistic  merit,  nor  of 
their  extent,  but  only  to  show  how  great  a  degree  of  atten- 
tion is  now  given  abroad  to  this  form  of  industry. 

Both  governments  and  people  there  are  exerting  themselves 
to  extend  and  improve  the  popular  taste  for  art,  and  to  elevate 
the  artistic  character  of  their  national  productions.  To  this 
end  they  are  encouraging  their  museums  and  schools  of  art, 
and  the  general  introduction  of  drawing  in  their  public 
schools.  The  influence  of  the  Kensington  Museum  upon  the 
taste  and  the  artistic  character  of  the  English  manufacturers 
cannot  be  overstated,  and  the  wonderful  advance  they  have 
made  between  the  Paris  Exposition  and  that  of  the  present 
year,  is  largely  due  to  its  teachings.  Among  other  modes  of 
instruction,  it  makes  appropriate  collections  of  works  of  art, 
and  sends  them  out  into  the  different  manufacturing  districts, 
there  to  remain  for  several  months,  open  to  the  free  inspec- 
tion of  all  who  wish  to  study  them.  On  the  Continent,  also, 
those  interested  speak  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  influence  of 
their  museums  and  art-schools  in  improving  the  general  taste. 
One  of  the  most  noticeable  things  about  the  art-manufactures 
in  the  Exposition,  was  the  number  of  beautiful  and  charac- 
teristic objects  which  were  bought  for  these  difierent  European 
museums. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  propriety  of  encourag- 
ing art  in  comparison  with  merely  mechanical  labor,  nor  to 


70  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

consider  how  far,  as  a  nation  becomes  richer,  it  is  necessary 
to  elevate  the  tastes,  and  to  furnish  new  and  high  interests  to 
the  people,  if  we  should  prevent  them  from  degenerating  into 
luxury  and  dissipation.  Our  State  has  taken  its  position  in 
this  matter,  by  introducing  drawing  into  the  public  schools, 
and  by  the  encouragement  of  artistic  study  in  the  schools  of 
technology ;  and  it  only  remains  to  push  on  the  work  as  vig- 
orously as  possible.  The  encouragement  of  museums  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  most  direct  and  effective  means  of  so  doing, 
and,  great  as  is  their  influence  in  Europe,  they  would  be 
much  more  powerful  here.  Indeed,  something  of  the  kind  is 
essential  to  our  art-education.  Students  and  the  public  in 
Europe  have  the  great  advantage  over  us  of  living  in  coun- 
tries where  they  are  continually  in  presence  of  art-work. 
With  us,  who  have  not  this  inspiration,  there  remains  only 
the  influence  of  museums,  as  a  means  of  cultivating  an  artis- 
tic taste  in  the  community.  The  writer  believes  that  with 
us  the  natural  taste  is  better  than  in  most  European  countries, 
and  that,  with  proper  effort,  our  people  can  be  educated  to 
take  high  rank  as  artistic  producers  ;  and  it  is  not  impossible 
that  when  we  do  acquire  an  artistic  skill,  our  work  will  be 
found  to  be  more  original  and  more  beautiful  than  that  of 
many  people  now  far  in  advance  of  us  in  this  department. 

Some  consideration!  was  given  by  the  writer  at  Vienna  to 
the  question  of  the  value  of  Expositions — which  may  be  con-  • 
sidered  as  a  species  of  temporary  museum — as  a  means  of 
developing  industry,  both  of  a  practical  and  an  artistic  char- 
acter. In  the  United  States,  particularly,  there  has  been  a 
tendency  to  think  lightly  of  them.  It  is  believed  that  this  is 
a  mistaken  view.  In  respect  to  the  international  exhibitions, 
held  in  foreign  countries  lately,  it  has  been  felt  that,  as  an* 
immediate  means  of  advertising  our  productions,  they  were 
of  no  use  to  us,  on  account  of  the  higher  range  of  prices 
prevailing  in  the  United  States.  In  this  there  is  less  differ- 
ence than  is  commonly  supposed  ;  and  there  is  an  advantage 
in  many  classes  of  our  productions — in  point  of  convenience, 
adaptability,  or  amount  of  work  they  will  perform,  or  that 
they  Avill  endure — which  would  more  than  outweigh  this  dif- 
ference, were  their  quality  and  character  better  understood 
abroad. 


REPORT   or   MR.    HILL.  71 

Again,  there  is  in  some  quarters  an  idea  that  we  are  so 
superior  to  other  nations  that  we  have  nothing  to  learn  from 
them.  It  is  perhaps  true,  in  regard  to  certain  industries, 
that  we  could  teach  more  than  we  could  learn ;  but  in  enter- 
taining this  opinion,  there  is  great  chance  that  others,  who 
are  taking  every  advantage  for  educating  themselves,  may  be 
passing  us  in  the  contest.  In  other  industries — pertaining  to 
matters  of  art  especially — our  citizens,  admitting  our  inferi- 
ority, have  undervalued  the  artistic  side  of  expositions,  and 
the  value  of  art  generally.  Leaving  the  moral  and  social  con- 
siderations out  of  view,  we  believe  there  cannot  be  a  greater 
mistake,  in  view  of  material  prosperity.  The  State,  like  the 
individual,  which  can  add  to  its  practical  skill  good  taste  and 
artistic  ornament,  has  added  another  element  to  its  means  of 
progress  in  wealth  and  influence. 

So  far,  then,  from  joining  in  the  general  feeling  in  regard 
to  foreign  expositions,  the  writer  believes  that  they  can  be 
made  of  very  great  value  to  us.  Had  our  manufacturers 
more  generally  sent  their  productions  to  Vienna,  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  they  would  have  been  repaid,  both  pecuniarily 
and  as  a  matter  of  education.  While  there  is  too  much 
disposition  with  us  to  rest  in  the  belief  that  we  cannot 
reach  foreign  markets,  the  English,  French,  and  above  all, 
the  Germans,  are  using  every  effort  to  learn  the  tastes  and 
wants  of  other  nations,  and  to  adapt  themselves  to  them,  and 
are  seeking  every  means  to  show  what  they  can  furnish. 

We,  in  Massachusetts,  cannot  now  afford  to  let  pass  any 
opportunity  for  educating  our  producers,  nor  for  opening  new 
markets. 

The  last  census  reports  show  that  we  are  hardly  holding 
our  own  with  the  rest  of  the  United  States  in  the  increase  of 
our  manufacturing  interests,  and  that  some  of  them  are  in 
fact  advancing  much  more  rapidly  than  we. 

In  former  times,  the  rocky  nature  of  our  soil  and  our 
climatic  conditions  forced  us  into  manufacturing  industries, 
in  which  we  acquired  a  skill  and  reputation  which  made  it 
difficult  for  other  parts  of  the  country  to  compete  with  us ; 
but  with  the  increase  of  wealth  in  other  sections,  the  requisite 
skill  is  there  being  gained  for  competition  Avith  us,  and  we 


72  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

can  only  hold  our  own  by  a  careful  encouragement  of  every 
mean.s  of  keeping  us  up  with  the  latest  improvements,  of  in- 
troducing among  us  new  departments  of  manufacture,  espe- 
cially in  the  direction  of  matters  of  taste  and  art,  and  finally 
of  opening  to  us  every  possible  avenue  for  the  disposal  of  our 
manufactures,  and  teaching  us  how  to  adapt  our  wares  to 
these  new  markets.  We  think  the  State  has  shown  its  dis- 
position to  do  this  in  the  encouragement  of  scientific  schools, 
whence  well-trained  and  liberally  educated  men  will  carry  a 
new  influence  into  our  manufactories,  and  in  the  introduction 
of  drawing  into  our  schools  in  a  manner  which  will  develop  in 
the  next  generation  new  and  artistic  forms  of  productions. 
But  we  believe  that  these  means  may  be  more  powerfully  sup- 
plemented would  the  Commonwealth  lend  its  influence  to  the 
encouragement  of  properly  conducted  expositions  among  our- 
selves in  other  departments,  as  it  does  in  agriculture.  By  a 
full  comparison  of  our  productions  through  the  intercourse 
which  would  thus  be  produced  among  our  manufacturers,  by  a 
well-directed  effort  to  bring  in  the  work  of  others  in  other  parts 
of  the  United  States  and  from  abroad,  and  finally  by  getting 
together  and  setting  open  to  the  body  of  the  people  all  these 
works  of  art,  both  pure  and  applied  to  industry,  which  are 
either  not  known  or  not  appreciated  by  our  citizens  at  large, 
we  believe  a  stimulus  could  be  given  to  industry  more  im- 
mediate and  more  powerful  than  in  any  other  way.  By  mak- 
ing such  an  exposition  a  bonded  warehouse,  our  importers 
and  their  foreign  correspondents  would  willingly  place  in 
them  many  illustrations  of  European  productions,  which  could 
be  afterwards  sold  or  returned. 

Passing  this  point,  attention  is  also  called  to  the  Centennial 
Exposition  of  1876.  The  declaration  was  general,  especially 
with  the  Germans,  that  they  should  attend  it,  and  if  prop- 
erly conducted  it  cannot  but  be  a  success.  Besides  the  Euro- 
peans who  will  visit  it,  it  will  collect  large  numbers  of  people 
from  South  America  and  the  West  Indies,  and  many  from 
Japan  and  the  East.  The  Japanese  have  already  signified 
their  intention  of  making  a  full  and  imposing  display  of  their 
productions. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  the  policy  cannot  be  too  strongly 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    HILL.  73 

urged,  of  making  an  early  effort  for  a  full  exhibition  by  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  at  this  Exposition. 

Among  the  branches  which  were  most  thoroughly  developed 
at  Vienna  was  that  of  education.  It  was  made  a  matter  of 
great  prominence  by  the  directors  of  the  Exposition,  and 
the  means  of  illustration,  in  buildings,  material  for  instruc- 
tion, publications,  etc.,  were  numerous.  This  portion  of  the 
exhibition  and  our  place  in  it  is  passed  over  here,  as  the 
Special  Commissioner,  Mr.  Philbrick,  has,  no  doubt,  fully 
developed  it. 

Among  other  objects  of  the  Exposition,  an  endeavor  was 
made  by  its  promoters  to  take  advantage  of  the  number  of 
strangers  whom  they  expected  it  to  bring  together  to  hold  a 
series  of  congresses  upon  important  international  matters. 
Of  these,  that  upon  patents  was  perhaps  the  most  important 
to  our  interests.  The  patent  laws  are  at  present  in  a  very 
unsatisfactory  condition  on  the  Continent.  Either  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  procure  a  patent,  or  with  states  which'  grant 
them,  the  construction  of  the  courts  is  such  that  they  are 
practically  valueless.  The  industrial  activity  of  the  United 
States,  however,  and  the  apparent  influence  of  our  patent 
system  on  invention,  are  beginning  to  have  their  effect;  and 
there  is  a  large  portion  of  the  more  liberal  party  which  desires 
to  introduce  the  advantages  of  a  good  patent  system.  In 
England,  also,  there  is  a  strong  disposition  to  alter  their  pat- 
ent laws,  so  as  to  make  them  more  like  ours.  It  was  believed 
that  if  those  of  this  way  of  thinking  could  organize  and  unite 
upon  a  strong  declaration  in  favor  of  patents  as  promoters  of 
industry,  and  could  prepare  a  simple  statement  of  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  a  good  patent  law  should  rest,  such  action 
would  be  the  first,  and  a  very  large,  step  towards  the  desired 
alteration  of  their  patent  laws. 

At  the  request  of  the  Director-general  of  the  Exposition, 
Baron  Schwarz-Senborn,  who  took  a  most  lively  interest  in 
this  congress,  the  undersigned  believing  that  he  should  sub- 
serve the  interest  of  the  State  in  so  doing,  became  a  member 
of  the  preparatory  committee,  and  afterwards  at  the  nomina- 
tion of  the  same  gentleman,  was  elected  vice-president  of  the 
congress  on  the  part  of  the  United  States.  This  body  car- 
lo 


74  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

ried  out  its  work  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  and  at  its 
adjournment  instituted  a  permanent  committee  to  carry  on 
the  agitation  of  the  matter,  with  authority  to  call  another 
meeting  when  it  should  seem  advantageous.  It  is  reported 
that  this  congress  is  already  producing  fruit,  and  that  both 
Switzerland  and  Belgium,  at  present  without  a  patent  law, 
are  very  seriously  debating  the  necessity  of  establishing  one, 
while  the  effect  of  its  action  is  also  felt  in  other  states.  If 
this  congress  should  result,  as  there  is  ground  to  hope  it  will, 
in  the  establishment  of  a  good  and  well  administered  patent 
law  on  the  Continent,  it  will  be  a  matter  of  vast  advantage  to 
our  inventors  and  manufacturers. 

HAMILTON  A.  HILL, 

Associate'Commissioner  for  Massachusetts  to  Exposition  at  Vienna. 


REPORT   OF   ME.    HILL.  75 


Number  of  Exhibitors  from  the  different  Nations  referred  to  in 
Mr.  Hill's  report. 

United  States, 914 

.   Venezuela, 294 

Great  Britain  and  Colonies, 1,741 

Portugal, 433 

Spain, 2,181 

France, .        .        .        .  3,691 

Switzerland, .        .        .  1,074 

Italy, •    .        .        .        .        .        .  3,735 

Morocco, 13 

Sweden, 944 

Norway, 152 

Denmark, .  475 

Belgium,       .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  550 

Netherlands,         . 355 

Germany, 5,789 

Austria, 7,382 

Hungary, .  3,478 

Russia, 1,197 

Caucasus, 281 

Greece,          ........     ^.        .  293 

Turkey, 5,843 

Roumania, 1,470 

Egypt  (by  Government). 

Tunis,                 "                   .....     objects,  641 

Morocco,  " 

Persia,  " 

Siam,  " 

China,  " 

Japan,                "                   .....     objects,  4,000 

Guatemala, 16 

Chili, 

Brazil, 222 

Uruguay, 61 


76 


EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 


Space  in  Square  Metres  allotted  to  each  Country  in  the  Industrial, 
Machinery  and  Agricultural  Halls.^ 


COUNTRIE  S. 

Industrial 

Covered 

Machinery 

Agricultural 

Hall. 

Courts. 

Hall. 

Hall. 

Austria,    .        .        .        . 

14,767 

15,000 

11,000 

13,000 

Germany, 

6,714 

2,000 

10,000 

8,000 

France,     . 

6,308 

3,500 

5,580 

2,500 

England,  . 

6,369 

2,500 

5,305 

7,000 

Russia,     . 

3,319 

800 

1,250 

600 

Hungary, 

2,972 

1,000 

350 

7,500 

Italy,        .        .        . 

2,972 

- 

950 

950 

Turkey,    . 

2,938 

- 

- 

- 

Belgium,  . 

2,613 

700 

3,000 

356 

China,  Siam  and  Japan, 

1,650 

800 

- 

- 

United  States,  . 

1,858 

1,500 

1,250 

1,150'' 

Switzerland,     . 

1,125 

900 

3,049 

475 

South  America, 

1,090 

- 

- 

- 

Egypt  and  Central  Afric 

h 

1,003 

- 

- 

- 

Holland,  . 

880 

500 

240 

275 

Greece,     . 

867 

- 

- 

- 

Sweden  and  Norway, 

865 

- 

280 

260 

Roumania, 

637 

- 

- 

- 

Spain, 

605 

- 

- 

640 

Portugal, . 

519 

- 

- 

350 

Persia  and  Middle  Asia, 

346 

- 

_ 

- 

Tunis,       .        .        . 

259 

_ 

_ 

- 

Morocco,  .        .    *  . 

86 

- 

- 

Denmark, 

— 

800 

300 

170 

*  These  measures  must  be  taken  as  approximate  merely.  It  was  impossible  to  get  reliable 
statements  from  authoritative  sources.  In  the  above  table,  no  note  is  taken  of  separate  build- 
ings erected  by  various  governments  and  individuals,  except  in  the  case  of  the  agricultural 
hall  of  the  United  States.  '  Separate  building. 


EEPOET   OF   MR.    KNIGHT.  77 


EEPOET  ON  TEXTILE  FABRICS,  EAW  MATEEIALS. 
AND  MACHINEEY. 


By    HORATIO    G.    KNIGHT. 


His  Excellency  the  governor,  in  his  address  to  the  two 
branches  of  the  legislature,  expressed  a  doubt  whether  the 
representation  of  the  Commonwealth  at  the  Vienna  Exhibi- 
tion would  result  in  the  great  benefit  that  was  predicted  by 
many. 

He  alluded  to  the  chief  causes  of  failure,  and  gave  the 
Massachusetts  Commission  credit  for  having  labored  faithfully 
and  intelligently  to  secure  the  best  attainable  results. 

It  may  well  be  questioned  whether  it  was  expedient  for 
any  State  to  send  out  a  paid  commission,  charged  with  duties 
that  should  have  been  well  performed  by  United  States  com- 
missioners. 

The  Massachusetts  Commissioner  on  behalf  of  industrial 
interests,  explains  the  hindrances  to  his  own  success,  points 
out  many  defects  in  the  arrangement  and  organization  of  the 
Exhibition,  and  makes  suggestions  in  his  report  which  may 
be  of  much  value  to  the  State  in  its  preparation  for  future 
exhibitions. 

It  is  therefore  more  than  possible  that  such  advantages  will 
accrue  to  the  Commonwealth,  from  its  representation  at 
Vienna,  as  to  justify  the  appropriation  that  was  made  for  the 
industrial,  as  well  as  for  the  educational  branch  of  the  Com- 
mission. 

If  a  new  impulse  shall  be  given  to  any  one  of  our  great 
industrial  interests,  or  if  our  people  shall  be  more  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  industrial  and  scientific  education,  the 
labors  of  the  Commission  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 

The  undersigned  would  gladly  have  given  more  time  to  his 
duties  as  an  Associate,  but  for  the  reasons  that  are  stated  in 
the  Commissioner's  report  it  seemed  to  be  useless  to  go  to 
Vienna  while  the  Exhibition  was  in  a  state  of  disorder. 


78  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

After  making  a  hurried  survey  of  the  whole  Exhibition, 
which  required  more  than  one  week,  the  time  that  remained — 
about  three  weeks — was  mostly  devoted  to  textile  industry 
as  there  represented  in  various  ways,  upon  which  a  brief 
report  will  now  be  given. 

Writers  for  the  press,  and  others,  have  described  the  gen- 
eral plan  and  arrangement  of  the  Exhibition,  which  was  in 
twenty-six  groups,  with  numerous  additional  exhibitions. 

Group  V.  was  Textile  Industry  and  Clothing. 

It  is  said  by  those  who  had  the  best  opportunities  for 
observing,  and  it  is  an  unquestioned  fact,  that  never  at  any 
previous  Exhibition  was  textile  industry  so  prominently  rep- 
resented, or  its  importance  so  well  shown,  as  at  the  Vienna 
Universal  Exhibition.  Never  before  was  there  brought  to- 
gether a  series  of  esjhibits  so  complete,  or  so  significant  of 
progress  in  the  various  branches  of  this  industry.  Its 
almost  numberless  branches  were  clearly  shown,  and  the 
relation  between  textile  and  other  industries  was  distinctly 
expressed. 

Although,  in  our  modern  civilization,  it  is  understood  that 
coal,  iron  and  textile  fibres  range  in  importance  in  the  order 
here  mentioned,  the  textile  industry  claimed  much  space,  and 
was  more  prominent  than  any  other  at  Vienna. 

It  was  no  easy  task  to  obtain  a  general  view  of  this  depart- 
ment, as  the  various  exhibits  belonging  to  it  were  widely 
separated,  and  in  several  building^.  The  Agricultural  Halls 
contained  a  variety  of  raw  materials,  and  machines  for  culti- 
vating the  same ;  there  were  many  things  in  the  Machinery 
Halls  belonging  to  textile  industry ;  and  the  great  Industry 
Palace  contained  an  immense  and  somewhat  confusing  col- 
lection of  textile  fabrics  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  including 
articles  of  utility,  of  ornament,  and  of  luxury. 

A  careful  examination  of  all  these  exhibits,  and  the  prep- 
aration of  an  elaborate  report  thereon,  would  have  been  a 
labor  of  several  months  for  more  than  one  man.  It  would 
have  necessitated  a  thorough  investigation  of  a  great  variety 
of  raw  materials,  to  ascertain  the  new  channels  they  open  for 
manufacturing  operations ;  the  examination  of  numberless 
textile  fabrics,  to  obtain  from  them  evidence  of  mechanical 
progress  and  chemical  development  in  this  branch  of  man- 


REPORT   OF  MR.    KNIGHT. 


79 


iifacture ;  and  the  inspection  of  a  great  variety  of  machinery 
that  was  exhibited  for  preparation,  spinning,  weaving,  braid- 
ing, dyeing,  printing,  ornamenting  and  finishing. 

This  work  lias  been  done  with  more  or  less  thoroughness, 
and  reports  of  much  interest  and  value  have  been  or  will  be 
made  by  commissioners  and  others.  A  series  of  valuable 
articles  on  the  textile  industry  at  Vienna,  have  already  been 
published  in  an  English  journal  that  is  seen  by  many  artisans, 
manufacturers  and  scientists  in  this  country.  The  official 
catalogues  of  several  countries  contain  important  information 
relative  to  their  various  industries. 

It  is  believed  that  textile  industry  alone  was  represented  at 
Vienna  by  nearly  ten  thousand  exhibitors,  if  we  include  the 
exhibits  of  fibres,  apparatus  and  machinery ;  but  without  in- 
cluding these,  the  number,  as  shown  by  the  catalogues,  was — 


For  Austria  and  Hung 

arjj 

about  2,500 

Germany, 

'     1,100 

France, 

750 

Switzerland, 

400 

England, 

300 

Italy,   . 

300 

Turkey, 

300 

Greece, 

225 

Eussia, 

200 

Tunis, 

175 

Belgium, 

150 

Sweden, 

50 

Denmark,     . 

75 

Exhibits  from  various  other  countries,  including  the  United 
States,  would  make  up  a  total  of  at  least  8,000  exhibitors  of 
textile  fabrics  and  clothing. 

These  figures  indicate  the  extent  of  this  branch  of  the 
Vienna  Exhibition ;  but  its  magnitude  will  be  better  appre- 
ciated when  it  is  stated  that,  in  many  instances,  a  single 
exhibitor  displayed  a  great  variety,  as  well  as  a  large  quan- 
tity of  goods.  This  was  especially  noticeable  in  the  Austrian 
sections.  The  exhibits  of  that  country  alone,  in  eleven  sec- 
tions, constituted  an  immense  exhibition. 


80  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

The  exhibits  of  France  were  also  in  eleven  sections,  illus- 
trating in  their  arrangement,  the  skill  and  taste  for  which  the 
people  of  that  country  are  distinguished. 

The  German  exhibits  were  well  displayed  in  eight  sections. 

From  those  countries,  as  well  as  from  Switzerland,  Bel- 
gium and  England,  there  were  collective  exhibits  of  great 
beauty  and  interest,  consisting  of  fabrics  in  silk,  wool,  cot- 
ton, flax,  hemp  and  jute  ;  and  clothing  of  all  descriptions,  for 
both  sexes. 

No  collective  exhibit  was  more  interesting  than  that  by  the 
silk  manufacturers  of  Crefeld,  Germany.  The  history  of  the 
silk  industry  of  Crefeld  is  very  instructive,  and  may  well  be 
studies  by  any  one  about  to  engage  in  that  branch  of  man- 
ufacture. 

The  silk  manufacturers  of  Lyons  also  united  in  a  magnifi- 
cent display  of  their  fabrics,  occupying  an  entire  court  of  the 
Palace. 

The  Macclesfield  Chamber  of  Commerce  exhibited  a  beauti- 
ful "  Trophy  of  Silk,"  comprising  articles  peculiar  to  that 
place,  furnished  by  nine  of  its  manufacturers. 

The  most  celebrated  manufacturers  of  silk,  woollen,  linen 
and  dress  goods,  in  France,  Germany,  Belgium  and  Great 
Britain — whose  names  are  well  known  in  this  country — 
exhibited  some  of  their  choicest  productions. 

From  Oriental  countries  there  were  numerous  collections 
of  webs  and  tissues,  chiefly  the  productions  of  manual  labor 
according  to  old  usages  and  methods,  distinguished  in 
design  and  coloring  by  native  taste.  These  attracted  much 
attention. 

There  were  several  exhibits  illustrating  the  processes  of 
manufacture,  the  silk  industry  being  thus  most  completely 
illustrated . 

In  the  United  States  department  there  were  less  than  forty 
exhibits  in  Group  V.,  and  but  few  of  these  were  from  Massa- 
chusetts, whose  manufacturers  could  have  furnished  five  times 
forty  contributions  to  that  branch  of  the  Exhibition.  It  cer- 
tainly was  remarkable  that  a  State  which  leads  all  the  others 
in  the  manufacture  of  woollen,  cotton  and  worsted  goods,  as 
well  as  the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes,  contributed  so 
little  to  this  last  and  greatest  Universal  Exhibition.     There 


EEPOET   OF   MR.    KNIGHT.  81 

was,  however,  but  little  inducement  to  participate  in  an  exhi- 
bition that  promised  no  immediate  substantial  returns. 

This  branch  of  the  United  States  department  was  too 
meagre,  and  too  mean,  to  reflect  any  credit  upon  the  country, 
and  could  only  tend  to  convey  a  false  impression  concerning 
its  advancement  in  textile  industry. 

The  exhibits  of  the  raw  textile  materials  were  numerous, 
including  some  that  are  little  known  in  this  country,  and  but 
little  used  elsewhere. 

Much  interest  was  expressed  in  the  fibres  of  certain  plants 
exhibited  by  Dr.  Collyer  in  the  United  States  department, 
which  are  said  to  have  been  cultivated  with  success  in  various 
countries  during  the  last  few  years.  In  the  Brazilian  depart- 
ment there  was  a  long  fibrous  textile  product,  extracted  from 
the  stems-  of  a  bulbous  plant,  resembling  mohair ;  also  fibres 
from  Tucum,  in  various  degrees  of  treatment,  some  of  which 
were  similar  to  sheep's  wool. 

The  United  States  exhibited  a  large  collection  of  cotton, 
including  beautiful  samples  of  the  Sea  Island,  and  there  was 
cotton  from  China,  Egypt,  Syria,  Southern  Eussia,  Algeria, 
Central  America,  and  several  other  countries. 

It  was  thought  that  the  exhibits  of  cotton  from  Egypt,  Eus- 
sia and  Algeria,  furnished  evidence  of  progress  in  the  cotton- 
culture  of  those  countries. 

The  flax  culture  was  largely  represented  by  Germany,  Aus- 
tria and  Great  Britain. 

The  culture  of  hemp  was  best  represented  by  Eussia, — a 
country  that  is  endeavoring  to  produce  all  raw  textile  mate- 
rials for  weaving. 

Jute  was  prominently  represented,  and  has  become  an 
important  material  for  yarns,  being  extensively  used  in  car- 
pet-weaving as  a  substitute  for  hemp.  It  is  being  applied  to 
new  purposes,  as  was  shown  in  the  Austrian,  German,  Dutch, 
Belgian,  French  and  English  departments. 

There  were  exhibitions  of  wool  of  every  description,  from 
all  countries  ;  also  goat's  hair  from  various  countries. 

There  were  collections  of  silk,  in  all  its  varieties,  from  all 

silk-growing  countries,  making  a  very  instructive  exhibition. 

So  well  was  this  material  represented,  that  one  could  there 

learn  more  about  its  quality  and  treatment  than  could  be 

n 


82  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

learned  in  a  sliort  time  from  any  treatise  or  book.  It  is 
understood  that  Italy  is  making  rapid  progress  in  this  and 
many  other  branches  of  industry. 

Our  Massachusetts  manufacturers  are  generally  well  ac- 
quainted with  all  machinery  and  raw  materials  adapted  to 
their  wants,  are  promptly  informed  of  all  inventions  and 
improvements,  and  are  not  slow  to  adopt  whatever  is  valu- 
able. 

Some  of  the  numerous  exhibits  of  textile  fabric  machinery 
and  apparatus  will  now  be  referred  to,  full  descriptions  and 
illustrations  of  which  are  easily  attainable  by  any  one  desiring 
the  same. 

Machinery  for  the  cotton  branch  of  textile  industry  was 
poorly  represented.  Switzerland  alone  showed  a  complete 
series  of  cotton-spinning  machines,  without  any  noteworthy 
improvements,  by  Jacob  Reiter  &  Co.,  of  Winterthur. 

Wool-washing  was  chemically  represented  by  German 
houses,  and  the  mechanical  process  by  McNaught  &  Co., 
of  England,  who  exhibited  machines  of  improved  construc- 
tion. 

A  wool-opening  machine  was  exhibited  by  M.  Celestin 
Martin,  of  Verviers,  Belgium,  capable  of  working  400  pounds 
•of  wool  per  hour ;  also  a  self-acting  oiling-machine  of  simple 
-construction,  with  which,  it  is  said,  a  single  workman  can  oil 
-3,000  pounds  of  wool  in  twelve  hours.  Other  machines  were 
shown  by  the  same  well-known  engineer.  Excellent  wool- 
combing  machines  were  shown  by  Piatt  Brothers,  of  Oldham, 
Eno-land. 

Wool-carding  was  largely  represented  by  well-known  Ger- 
man, Belgian  and  English  houses,  some  of  whom  claimed 
important  improvements.  The  machines  of  M.  Martin,  who 
exhibited  two  systems  of  carding,  attracted  much  attention. 

Wool-spinning  .was  well  represented ;  and  here  again  the 
.machines  of  M.  Celestin  Martin  were  conspicuous.  The  self- 
actor  for  carded  wool,  by  M.  Bede,  of  Verviers,  contains 
interesting  and  original  features  of  probable  value. 

Much  interest  was  manifested  in  the  patent  continuous  wool- 
spinner,  by  John  G.  Avery,  of  Worcester  County,  Mass., 
which,  it  is  claimed  in  his  circular,  "will  do  more  and  better 
work  with  one-half  the  number  of  spindles  at  less  than  half 


REPORT   OF   MR.    KNIGHT.  83 

the  expense,  occupying  less  than  one-quarter  the  space  than 
the  most  improved  process  now  in  use  in  Europe." 

Flax,  hemp  and  jute-spinning  were  probably  best  repre- 
sented by  Great  Britain,  though  there  were  interesting 
exhibits  from  other  countries.  Flax-breaking  machines  were 
largely  represented  in  the  Austrian,  German,  and  other 
departments.  Dr.  Colly er  exhibited  a  flax-breaking  and 
scutching  machine  in  the  American'  department. 

Machinery  and  apparatus  belonging  to  the  silk  industry 
were  represented  by  Switzerland,  France,  Italy,  Germany 
and  Austria  ;  also  in  an  interesting  manner  by  Turkestan  and 
Japan.  There  was  a  remarkable  exhibition  of  machinery  for 
working  silk  waste,  by  Theodor  and  Fredric  Bell,  engineers, 
at  Kriens,  near  Lucerne ;  all  of  which  is  worthy  of  descrip- 
tion and  illustration.  Great  progress  is  being  made  in  this 
comparatively  new  branch  of  industry. 

Caspar  Honegger,  of  Etiti,  Canton  Zurich,  showed  the  most 
numerous  exhibits  for  silk-weaving.  There  was  also  interest- 
ing silk  machinery  from  another  Swiss  house,  that  of  Scheller 
&  Berchtold,  of  Thalweil,  near  Zurich.  Looms  for  weaving 
silk  ribbons,  with  six  shuttles,  by  F.  Wahl,  of  Basle;  and  a 
series  of  looms  for  various  purposes  and  materials,  by  M. 
Kuifmaul  &  Son,  of  the  same  place,  were  deserving  of  notice. 
Among  the  latter  was  one  for  taffeta  ribbons,  with  revolver- 
slay,  and  a  new  motion  for  the  leaves,  actuated  by  means  of 
eccentrics ;  and  one  for  velvet  ribbons,  with  a  crochet-slay, 
and  a  jacquard  apparatus  at  its  side. 

In  the  German  department  there  were  looms  for  silk-weav- 
ing, by  Felix  Tonar,  of  Dlilken,  including  one  for  weaving 
glazed  silk-stuff.  It  is  said  that  the  works  of  Mr.  Tonar 
have  been  started  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  Rhenish  silk 
industry  independent  of  foreign  manufacturers  of  machinery. 

Looms  for  mixed  stuffs  and  for  heavy  goods  were  promi- 
nently represented.  The  new  and  novel  apparatus  for  weav- 
ing, by  George  Hodgson,  of  Bradford,  England,  is  believed 
to  be  worthy  the  attention  of  all  interested  in  textile  industry. 
He  exhibited  other  looms,  including  one  of  the  best  construc- 
tion, with  the  circular  box  and  six  shuttles.  There  was  also  a 
collection  of  looms,  apparatus,  etc.,  for  the  weaving  process, 


84  EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA. 

all  of  excellent  workmanship,  by  Heniy  Livesey,  of  Green- 
bank,  Blackburn. 

Escher,  TVyss  &  Co.,  of  Zurich,  exhibited  looms  for  weav- 
ing colored  stuffs,  arranged  for  different  mountings,  and  to 
work  with  three,  with  four,  and  with  five  shuttles. 

Kuffmaul  and  Sons,  of  Basle,  exhibited  a  loom  for  tapestry, 
with  high  warp,  with  a  jacquArd  machine  of  1 ,500  lifting  wires. 

Conspicuous  in  the'  Gernlan  department,  were  the  looms  and 
the  tools  connected  with  weaving,  exhibited  by  the  Sachsisehe 
Webstuhlfabrik  (formerly  Louis  SchcBuherr),  of  Chemnitz. 
These  looms  are  said  to  be  adapted  for  the  lightest  as  well  as 
for  the  heaviest  stuffs ;  for  the  closest  and  for  the  widest 
arrangement  of  warp ;  with  change  of  weft ;  with  or  without 
the  jacquard  machine.  This  company  was  formed  in  1851, 
and  now  employs  about  700  workmen. 

The  Crompton  loom,  in  a  lighter  and  more  simple  form 
than  heretofore  made,  was  exhibited  by  the  Sachsisehe 
Maschinen  Fabrik  (formerly  Eichard  Hartmann) . 

In  the  Austrian  department  several  looms  were  in  opera- 
tion, including  those  of  the  Tannenwald  Cotton  Works, 
which  appeared  to  be  composed  of  all  possible  elements  of 
other  looms,  but  good,  both  in  combination  and  workmanship. 
There  was  one  loom  in  the  American  department,  constructed 
and  exhibited  by  the  Star  Tool  Company  of  Providence, 
which  has  two  or  three  interesting  details,  and  makes  300 
picks  per  minute. 

Reference  will  be  made  to  only  a  few  more  machines,  all  of 
which,  it  was  claimed,  contained  now  and  interesting  details, 
namely  :  A  warping-frame  and  a  warp-dressing  machine,  by 
the  Erste  Briinner  Maschinen  Fabriks  Gesellschaft,  Briiun. 
A  mechanical  knitting-loom,  by  Ernst  Supe,  of  Limbach 
(and  here  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  the  well-known  Lamb 
knitting-machine,  and  several  others,  were  exhibited).  A 
covering  and  twisting  machine,  and  a  cord-making  machine, 
by  G.  Stein,  of  Berlin.  A  singeing  machine,  and  other 
machines  for  finishing,  by  the  Zittauer  Maschinen  Fabrik  und 
Eiseugiesserei,  Zittau  :  also  a  drying  machine  by  the  same 
company.  Stretching  machines,  by  William  Birch,  of  Man- 
chester, and  by  J.  Ducommuu  &  Co.,  of  Mulhouse.  A  crap- 
ing machine,  by  A.  Kiessler,  of  Zittau ;  and  a  calendering 


REPORT   OF   MR.    KNIGHT.  85 

macliine  for  woollen  fabrics,  by  the  same  engineer.  An  eight- 
color  perrotine  printing-machine,  constructed  and  exhibited 
by  C.  Bialon,  of  Berlin.  Finally,  what  appeared  to  be  a 
remarkable  machine  for  embroidery,  by  Reitmann,  of  St. 
Gall,  Switzerland. 

Other  textile  fabric  machinery  and  apparatus,  of  equal,  or 
even  greater  importance,  may  have  escaped  the  notice  of  the 
writer  of  this  paper :  whose  knowledge  of  machinery  is 
limited,  and  whose  time  for  its  examination  was  short. 

A  single  remark  concerning  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition. 
If  Massachusetts  is  to  be  well  represented  there,  she  must 
make  wise  and  timely  preparation.  The  countries  that  made 
such  preparation,  of  which  England  was  one  and  Belgium 
another,  were  most  successful  at  Vienna. 

While  Massachusetts  is  greatly  in  advance  of  all  the  other 
States  in  respect  to  several  important  industries,  reliable 
statistics  show  that  she  is  behind  four  others  in  the  silk 
industry,  and  especially  in  the  matter  of  weaving. 

The  undersigned  will  conclude  this  brief  and  necessarily 
imperfect  Report  on  the  branch  of  the  Exhibition  in  which  he 
was  most  interested  and  spent  most  time,  by  expressing"  the 
hope  that  the  attention  of  our  capitalists,  and  others,  may  be 
so  directed  to  the  silk  manufacture,  that  we  may  at  no  distant 
day,  occupy  in  this  the  same  enviable  position  that  we  hold  in 
other  branches  of  the  textile  industry. 

HORATIO   6.  KNIGHT, 

Associate  Commissioner  for  Massachusetts  to  Exposition  at  Vienna. 


86  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 


SPECIAL    REPOKTS. 


Eeport    on    the    Okga^nization    of    International    Exhibition 

Commissions  and  Juries,  with  Especial  Reference  to 

THE   Vienna   Universal    Exhibition   of   1873. 


By  THOMAS    C.   AECHER, 


From  the  commencement  of  international  exhibitions 
nothing  lias  been  more  apparent  than  the  necessity  for  well- 
organised  commissions  and  juries,  and  success  has  always 
been  in  accordance  with  the  careful  and  judicious  selection 
of  the  chief  persons  to  perform  the  functions  of  those  two 
branches  of  the  management. 

The  commissions  here  referred  to  are  those  which  are  insti- 
tuted by  the  nations  in  whose  territories  the  exhibitions  are 
held,  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  general  arrangements, 
providing  the  necessary  accommodations,  and  framing  such 
regulations  as  will  give  coufidence  to  the  other  nations  of  the 
world,  that,  in  accepting  their  invitations  to  exhibit,  their 
interests  will  be  fairly  studied  and  amply  protected. 

Another  kind  of  commission  has  also  been  found  to  be 
essential  to  the  success  of  any  exhibition,  and  its  constitution 
is  also  of  great,  if  not  vital,  importance  ;  namely,  the  national 
commissions,  or  commissions  appointed  by  the  various  exhib- 
iting nations,  the  functions  of  which  are,  to  take  such  steps 
in  their  individual  countries,  as  will  make  known  to  their 
countrymen  who  are  interested,  all  the  advantages  likely  to 
accrue  to  those  who  agree  to  exhibit ;  to  make  the  exhibitors 
acquainted  with  all  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  exhibition  ; 
to  secure  the  safe  transport  of  the  exhibits ;  to  adjust  the 
space  allotted,  and  to  keep,  generally,  a  watchful  care  over 
the  interests  of  their  countrymen  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
exhibition  wherever  it  may  be  held.     Eegarding  these  two 


REPORT   OF  MR.    ARCHER.  87 

forms  of  commission  as  a  combination  to  effect  one  main 
object,  we  may  designate  the  former  as  the  Local  Adminis- 
trative and  Executive,  and  the  latter  as  the  Foreign  Depart- 
mental, Commission. 

First,  then,  in  order  is  the  Local  Administrative  and 
Executive  Commission,  appointed  by  the  government  of  the 
nation  in  whose  territories  the  exhibition  is  to  be  held.  Very 
much  depends  upon  the  wise  selection  of  those  who  are  to 
constitute  this  important  body,  for  it  is  necessary  to  inspire 
all  nations  with  confidence  in  their  administration.  Each 
nation  will,  of  course,  have  its  own  opinions  upon  this  point, 
but  it  would  be  absurdly  presumptuous  to  attempt  to  lay 
down  any' general  rules  for  the  selection  of  this,  the  most  im- 
portant body  connected  with  an  international  exhibition  ;  there 
are,  however,  one  or  two  points  which  experience  has  demon- 
strated as  indisputable  facts,  which  cannot  be  ignored  without 
great  risk  of  failure.  The  first  of  these  is  that  there  must  be 
one  irresponsible  head,  a  Director-General,  whose  decision 
on  all  disputed  points  must  be  final.  The  necessity  for  this 
will  at  once  be  seen,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  an  inter- 
national exhibition  is  an  event  which,  when  complete,  only 
lasts  for,  as  a  rule,  six  months,  and,  at  the  utmost  stretch, 
can  only  be  allowed  about  three  months  for  previous  arrange- 
ment, during  which  innumerable  unforeseen  difficulties  arise. 
If  these  difficulties  are  left  open  to  discussions  arising  from 
diversity  of  opinion,  many  of  them  would  never  be  settled  at 
all,  and  the  exhibition  would  represent  chaos,  instead  of  nice 
order  and  arrangement.  Hence  it  is  necessary  that  the  power 
to  give  a  prompt  decision  should  be  vested  in  one  head. 

Secondly,  a  carefully  selected  but  not  too  numerous  body 
of  coadjutors  should  be  chosen  to  help  and  support  the  chief 
commissioner.  Of  these,  some  should  be  selected  for  their 
ability  to  act  as  councillors,  upon  whom  the  chief  can  rely  for 
advice  and  assistance  in  all  cases  of  difficulty  ;  whilst  to  others 
departmental  work  should  be  allotted.  The  Vienna  Imperial 
Ko3^al  Commission  was  fortunate  in  possessing  the  first  of 
these  requirements ;  and  no  better  Director-General  could 
have  been  found  on  the  continent  of  Europe  than  His  Excel- 
lency Baron  Schwartz-Senborn ;  for  not  only  is  he  a  man  of 
great  administrative  powers  and  broad  views,  but  he  had  been 


88  EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA. 

thoroughly  tranied  to  exhibition  life.  la  the  London  Exhi- 
bition of  1862,  the  nation  which  turned  that  event  to  the 
greatest  commercial  advantage,  and  which,  in  all  respects, 
managed  the  afiairs  of  its  exhibitors  best,  was  Austria ;  and 
those  results  were  entirely  due  to  the  unwearying  activity 
and  admirable  arrangement  of  the  baron,  then  Chevalier 
Schwartz ;  and  well  is  his  genial  co-operation  and  perfect 
disinterestedness  remembered  by  those  who,  like  the  writer, 
had  the  satisfaction  of  working  with  him  on  that  and  other 
occasions.  With  his  councillors,  however,  he  had  difficulties, 
although  on  the  whole  that  part  of  the  arrangement  worked 
tolerably  well,  perhaps  even  better  than  was  supposed ;  for, 
though  the  public  tongue  indulged  itself  in  assertions  of  dis- 
agreements, etc.,  the  public  eye  did  not  penetrate  into  its 
chambers,  nor  did  the  public  ear  hear  its  discussions.  In  the 
third  portion  of  his  commission  Baron  Schwartz  was  lament- 
ably weak ;  he  had  no  efficient  staff  of  aids,  to  whom  the 
separate  departments  could  be  safely  allotted,  and  hence  arose 
confusion,  and  most  irritating  annoyance  to  the  exhibitors, 
which  was  increased  and  intensified  by  the  efforts  to  carry  out 
a  complicated  and  impracticable  classification.  Everywhere 
amongst  the  officers  of  the  commission  who  were  intrusted 
with  the  departmental  arrangements,  under  the  Director- 
General,  there  was  an  almost  oriental  spirit  of  procrastina- 
tion, and  a  want  of  knowledge  of  the  value  of  time,  which 
seriously  impeded  the  completion  of  the  exhibition,  and  this 
inertness,  added  to  the  utter  inability  of  the  railway  com- 
panies to  do  the  work  they  had  undertaken,  at  one  time 
threatened  to  make  the  exhibition  a  complete  failure.  The 
various  national  commissions,  however,  saved  it  by  taking 
matters  into  their  own  hands,  and  carrying  out  the  arrange- 
ments of  their  own  sections  as  they  thought  best. 

From  this  a  good  lesson  ought  to  be  learned  and  acted 
upon  in  all  future  international  exhibitions;  namely,  not  to 
hamper  the  foreign  commissioners  with  restrictions  which 
cannot  be  complied  with,  and  which  can  only  result  in  a  petty 
warfare  and  an  ignominious  abandonment,  one  by  one,  of  all 
the  disputed  points,  after  the  sacrifice  of  much  precious  time 
and  temper  in  the  discussion.  Every  nation  will,  if  left  alone, 
do  its  best  to  make  its  exhibits  appear  as  effective  as  pos- 


EEPORT   OF  MR.    ARCHER.  89 

sible,  and,  provided  the  general  arrangements  are  not  too 
complicated  and  unwieldly,  a  few  general  directions  to  each 
foreign  commission  will  secure  as  much  harmony  as  can  be 
hoped  for  in  an  undertaking  so  vast  as  an  international  exhi- 
bition must  necessarily  be.  It  is  one  thing  to  sit  down  with 
pen,  ink  and  paper,  and  with  leisure  for  reflection,  and  plan 
the  arrangement  and  classification  of  either  a  museum  or  an 
exhibition  ;  it  is  another,  to  bring  together  all  the  varied 
products  of  man's  industry,  associated  with  all  the  peculiar 
wishes  and  opinions  of  the  producers,  and  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time  so  arrange  them  that  they  shall  not  only  be  in 
some  sort  of  order,  but  what,  after  all,  will  always  be  the  chief 
consideration,  placed  so  as  to  exhibit  the  individual  articles 
in  the  most  effective  manner.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the 
more  simple  the  code  of  regulations,  and  the  less  they  inter- 
fere with  the  individual  action  of  the  foreign  commissioners, 
— who,  as  a  rule,  are  earnest  and  well  skilled  in  their  work, — 
the  better  for  the  general  management.  There  never  has 
been,  at  any  of  the  European  great  international  exhibitions, 
any  proper  bureau  for  information  to  exhibitors  ;  and  yet  how 
much  trouble  might  be  saved,  and  how  greatly  business  might 
have  been  facilitated  !  Suppose,  for  instance,  such  a  depart- 
ment had  been  fully,  instead  of  very  partially,  organized  in 
the  Vienna  Exhibition,  and  it  had  consisted  of  twelve  intelli- 
gent men  of  each  of  the  following  nationalities, — French,  Ger- 
man, and  English, — and  there  had  been  four  officers  placed 
most  conveniently  for  the  exhibitors  in  different  parts  of  the 
exhibition  or  grounds,  the  functions  of  these  officials  being 
simply  to  receive  inquiries  on  forms,  and  to  transmit  them  to 
the  proper  authorities  and  see  that  answers  were  obtained  in 
due  course  and  transmitted  to  the  inquirers ;  these  officers, 
aided  by  a  dozen  messengers,  could  have  saved  enormous 
trouble,  time,  and  personal  annoyance ;  their  proper  per- 
formance of  their  duties  would  have  acted  like  a  good  lubri- 
cating oil,  and  would  have  made  the  great  machine*' work 
much  more  smoothly  than  it  did. 

There  is  another  point  of  great  importance  in  which  the 

Austrian  Commission  signally  failed.     It  was  in  regulating 

the   daily   admissions  of  the   vast   army   of  exhibitors   and 

attendants  necessary  to  carry  on  the  business  of  the  Exhibi- 

12 


90  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

lion.  It  is  said  that  no  less  than  fifteen  thousand  persons 
had  free  admission  daily  as  exhibitors,  exhibitors'  assistants, 
foreign  commissioners,  their  officers  and  attendants,  the  em- 
ployes of  the  general  direction,  consisting  of  clerks,  attend- 
ants, police,  military,  firemen  and  keepers  of  the  roads  and 
gardens,  besides  a  host  of  other  people  connected  with  the 
restaurants  and  other  matters.  No  general  rule  could  be  hit 
upon  for  the  management  of  this  host,  and  the  executive 
seemed  to  think  that  the  best  way  to  protect  itself  from  im- 
position was  to  keep  perpetually  changing  the  passes,  and 
giving  all  the  trouble  possible,  so  as  to  prevent  its  being 
worth  the  while  of  any  trickster  to  try  and  circumvent  them ; 
but  this  was  legislating  for  a  few  vagabonds,  and  giving  end- 
less annoyance  to  thousands  of  anxious,  hard-working  and 
honest  people.  Had  a  certain  number  of  wicket-gates  been 
allotted  for  the  entrance  of  the  holders  of  free  passes,  and 
picked  men  placed  at  them,  in  a  week  or  two  they  would 
have  become  femiliar  with  the  people  who  had  a  right  to  pass, 
and  no  real  difficulty  would  have  been  felt.  So  irritating 
was  the  Austrian  process,  that  upon  several  occasions  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  a  general  strike  amongst  exhibitors  and 
their  assistants  was  prevented.  About  twenty-five  nations 
were  represented  in  the  Vienna  Exposition ;  and  as  many 
wicket-gates,  with  three  attendants  allotted  to  each,  two  to 
be  in  reg-ular  attendance  and  one  to  relieve  the  others  for 
meals  and  rest,  would  have  made  the  administration  suffi- 
ciently secure,  and  would  have  saved  money,  trouble  and  in- 
convenience to  a  considerable  extent.  For  nearly  as  many 
gates  were  open  to  free  passes,  and  even  a  greater  number  of 
people  were  employed,  besides  the  useless  stafi"  whose  whole 
occupation  was  printing  and  changing  admission  tickets  con- 
tinually ;  but  there  was  no  system,  and  consequently  expense 
and  trouble  were  incurred  without  any  other  result  than  ex- 
treme dissatisfaction.  Mistakes  of  this  kind,  which  afiected 
the  general  management,  multiplied  of  course  in  all  the 
smaller  branches  of  the  arrangement  and  originated  innumer- 
able difficulties  and  disappointments  which  greatly  militated 
against  the  realization  of  that  satisfaction  which  it  ought  to 
have  been  the  general  aim  of  the  administration  to  produce. 
The   want   of   reliable    departmental    officers    forced   the 


KEPOET   OF   MR.    ARCHER.  91 

Director-General  to  attempt  to  do  too  much  personally. 
Instead  of  being  only  the  administrator,  he  tried  to  manage 
the  executive  also,  and  it  was  too  much  for  him,  as  it  ever 
must  be  for  a  single  individual  upon  such  occasions.  The 
consequence  was,  that  much  was  ill  done,  and  much  not  done 
at  all.  The  proper  plan  would  have  been  to  have  allotted 
distinct  duties  to  each  of  his  executive  staff,  and  to  have  seen 
that  those  duties  were  honestly  and  faithfully  performed. 

The  executive  staff  should  be  divided  into  sections,  and 
each  should  report  daily  to  the  Director-General  the  work  it 
has  transacted,  calling  attention  to  all  points  of  difficulty 
which  may  have  arisen,  and  stating  how  such  difficulties  have 
been  surmounted.  This  would  enable  the  Director-General 
to  correct  mistakes  before  too  late,  or  to  approve,  and  thus 
guide  his  officers  in  their  future  operations. 

Assuming  the  building  to  be  complete  or  ready  for  the 
allotment  of  space,  the  following  committees,  besides  others 
suggested  by  local  circumstances,  should  be  organized  : — 

First.  The  Committee  of  Installation,  with  whom  the  dis- 
tribution of  space  rests, — a  difficult  and  arduous  duty,  requir- 
ing great  tact  and  management  in  order  that  conflicting  inter- 
ests may  be  harmonized  and  the  amenities  of  the  Exhibition 
preserved.  A  well  organized  Installation  Committee  would 
never  have  consented  to  that  huge  and  ugly  trophy  of 
stone  bottles,  supposed  to  have  contained  Curacoa,  which  dis- 
figured the  grand  gallery  of  the  Vienna  Exhibition  in  the 
Dutch  department,  and  many  other  not  much  less  obnoxious 
things.  The  Installation  Committee,  besides  distributing 
space  to  foreign  commissions  and  to  home  exhibitors,  have 
a  still  more  arduous  duty  in  seeing  that  such  space  is  not 
occupied  so  as  to  injure  the  general  effects. 

Second.  A  Railway  Committee,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see 
that  the  goods  delivered  into  the  Exhibition  are  in  good  order 
and  are  instantly  passed  on  to  their  proper  department.  The 
absence  of  such  a  committee  in  the  Vienna  arrangements, 
ought  to  act  as  a  caution  on  all  future  occasions,  for  nothing 
more  imperilled  the  success  of  that  Exhibition.  A  Railway 
Committee  requires  a  large  staff  of  attendants,  some  of  whom 
should  be  practically  acquainted  with  the  management  of 
depots  for  goods,  and  all  should  be  active,  well-chosen  men. 


92  EXPOSITION  AT  VIENNA. 

Third.  A  Committee  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  issue 
passes  to  exhibitors,  assistants  and  workmen,  and  regulate 
generally  the  ticket  and  free-pass  department. 

Fourth.  The  Catalogue  Committee,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
collate  the  forms  as  soon  as  received,  classify  them  and  get 
them  into  the  printer's  hands  without  delay.  If  a  concession 
of  the  printing  and  sale  of  the  general  catalogue  is  accorded 
to  any  one,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  include  in  it  foreign 
catalogues,  unless  under  some  especial  proviso  which  protects 
the  interests  of  foreio^n  commissions  and  encouraojes  them 
to  print  their  own  special  catalogues,  which  are  always  the 
most  valuable  portions  of  the  literature  of  any  International 
Exhibition.  The  French  Imperial  Commission  in  1867  so 
mismanaged  this  matter  as  to  create  lawsuits  and  suppress 
to  a  large  extent  this  valuable  source  of  information.  The 
Catalogue  Committee  should  also  undertake  the  printing  of 
forms  and  other  documents  required  by  the  other  depart- 
ments. Without  some  efficient  suiDcrvision  much  waste  of 
time  and  extravagant  expenditure  is  sure  to  occur  in  the 
printing  of  useless  and  inconvenient  forms,  and  even  in  the 
wasteful  production  of  well  digested  forms. 

Fifth.  A  Committee  to  regulate  the  police,  the  fire- 
brigade  and  the  attendants  and  cleaners,  is  of  course  neces- 
sary, and  its  functions  are  second  to  none  in  importance. 

Sixth.  The  gardens,  roads  and  grounds  generally  should 
have  a  separate  Committee,  upon  which  both  men  of  taste 
and  practical  experience  should  be  placed. 

Eighth,  An  Engineering  Committee  should  undertake  the 
arrangement  of  boiler-houses  and  other  matters  connected 
with  the  Machinery  Department. 

Tenth.  A  Fine  Art.  Committee  is  necessary  to  regulate 
the  disposition  of  art  objects  with  a  view  to  secure  the  best 
and  most  effective  placing  of  them ;  this  may  be  a  sub-com- 
mittee of  the  Installation  Committee ;  or,  if  not,  the  two 
ought  to  act  in  unison,  especially  with  regard  to  troj)hies^ 
which,  rightly  placed  and  tastefully  designed,  add  much  to  the 
beauty  and  interest  of  the  exhibition,  but  otherwise,  often 
disfigure  it  most  seriously. 

Eleventh.  The  refreshment  establishments  and  the  musical 
entertainments  should  be  under  a  Committee  or  Committees, 


^  RErOET   OF  JIE.   ARCHER.  93 

and  oil  no  account  ought  a  control  over  the  charges  to  be 
reUnquished.  This  cannot  however  be  fairly  retained  unless 
the  concessions  to  sell  are  made  in  a  liberal  spirit.  For  well- 
regulated  refreshment  rooms  with  moderate  charges  are  great 
aids  to  the  success  of  an  exhibition. 

Twelfth.  A  Committee  is  necessary  to  organize  and 
arrange  the  International  Juries,  and  besides  scientific 
knowledge,  the  gentlemen  composing  it,  or  at  least  some 
of  them,  should  be  good  linguists,  and  amongst  them,  or 
the  jurors  for  the  country  holding  the  exhibition,  must  be 
selected  reporters  who  will,  by  careful  reports,  give  an 
enduring  value  to  the  exhibition. 

Thirteenth.  A  competent  Finance  Committee  is  a  matter 
of  course. 

The  organization  of  the  Foreign  Commissions  rests  entirely 
with  the  countries  from  whence  they  come,  and  it  is  only  left 
to  the  country  holding  the  exhibition  to  aid  them  in  every 
possible  way.  Nothing  that  could  be  said  under  this  head 
can  be  of  any  use  to  America,  where  the  duties  of  hospitality 
are  universally  understood  and  practised. 

The  next  important  points  are  the  jury  question,  and  the 
awards;  the  latter  especially,  for  we  have  just  seen  how 
with  the  best  intentions  badly  carried  out  the  worst  results 
may  be  realized.  In  the  Vienna  Exhibition  regulations,  we 
were  told  that  there  were  to  be  five  prize-medals  :  1st,  one 
for  Progress,  2d  for  Merit,  3d  for  Good  Taste,  4th  for  Co- 
operators,  and,  apart  from  this  series,  one  for  Fine  Art, 
whether  in  painting,  sculpture,  or  decorative  art.  Besides 
these  there  were  two  Diplomas, — a  Diploma  of  Honor,  the 
highest  prize  which  could  be  awarded,  and  a  Diploma  of 
Honorable  Mention,  the  lowest  prize  which  could  be  awarded. 
Moreover,  it  was  communicated  to  the  juries  that  the  first 
four-mentioned  prizes  were  to  be  valued  in  the  order  in  which 
they  are  given  above,  that  is  to  say:  1st,,  Progress ;  2d, 
Merit;  3d,  Good  Taste,  and  4th,  Cooperation.  Hardly  had 
the  work  of  the  juries  commenced  before  the  question  arose, 
Can  two  medals  be  given  to  one  person  ;  for  instance.  Prog- 
ress and  Good  Taste,  Merit  and  Good  Taste,  or  Good  Taste 
and    Cooperation?     These   were  very  natural   questions,  to 


94  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA.  • 

which  an  affirmative  answer  would  also  seem  a  natural  reply, 
but  the  answer  was  in  the  negative.  This  caused  much 
excitement,  and  even  a  threat  on  the  part  of  some  juries  to 
throw  up  their  work ;  for  they  did  not  care  to  identify  them- 
selves with  a  process  of  self-stultification.  Perhaps  this  may 
not  appear  a  necessary  consequence ;  I  will,  therefore,  give 
an  example  : — 

Take,  for  instance,  two  manufacturers  of  Porcelain,  one 
nearly  at  the  top  of  his  profession  ;  and  it  is  at  once  obvious 
that  he  deserves  a  high  reward,  which  the  jury  may  consider 
does  not  amount  to  the  highest ;  that  is,  the  Diploma  of  Hon- 
or ;  they,  therefore,  give  him  the  Medal  for  Progress.  Now, 
it  must  be  evident  to  all  that  in  such  an  art  as  his,  he  cannot 
have  made  progress  without  being  a  meritorious  worker,  and 
a  man  of  good  taste ;  but  if  he  is  only  to  receive  the  Medal 
•for  Progress,  the  two  latter  and  equally  important  qualities 
are  left  out  of  sight,  whilst  the  general  public  will  be  more 
likely  to  think  highly  of  the  third  class  medal  for  Good  Taste 
than  of  the  first,  with  the  indefinite  idea  of  j^rogress  attached 
to  it.  After  much  discussion  the  Council  of  Presidents  of 
Juries,  a  deliberative  body  which  held  a  position  between  the 
General  Direction  and  the  Juries,  decided  in  favor  of  the 
jurors'  view,  that  one  or  more  medals  should  be  awarded 
where  deserved,  and  that  another  absurd  regulation,  that  only 
one  Diploma  of  Honor,  in  any  group,  should  be  given  to  one 
nationality,  should  be  rescinded.  There  was  a  tacit  under- 
standing that  this  was  accepted  by  the  Council  of  General 
Direction ;  but  after  all  the  labors  of  the  jury  based  on  this 
understanding  were  concluded,  and  the  juries  themselves 
dispersed,  their  decisions  were  altered  and  the  old  idea 
reverted  to.  Therefore,  practically,  the  published  lists  of 
prizes  do  not  give  the  true  opinions  of  the  jurors  and  experts. 

Anything  more  mischievous  can  hardly  be  imagined,  and 
already  many  unprincipled  people  are  taking  advantage  of  it. 
Thus  advertisements  appear  intimating  that  the  advertiser  is 
the  only  one  in  his  class  who  received  the  medal  for  "  Good 
Taste" ;  the  public  are  not  aware  that  this  is  the  lowest  prize 
in  the  form  of  a  medal.  Then  others  are  telling  the  world 
by  advertisements,  circulars,  and  other  means  of  deceiving, 
that  they  received  the  Diploma,  but  do  not  say  it  is  merely 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ARCHER.  95 

"Honorable  Mention,"  and  not  of  "Honor."  All  the  world 
would  understand  1st,  2d,  3d  and  4th  prizes,  and  if  with 
each  prize-medal  were  given  a  certificate  stating  the  grounds 
upon  which  it  was  given,  there  would  not  be  much  room  for 
mistake  or  imposture. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  Council  of  General  Direc- 
tion modified  the  awards  of  the  juries  after  they  had  been 
given  in,  and  had  been  passed  by  the  Council  of  Presidents. 
This  is  a  mistake  which  ought  never  to  be  repeated.  The 
jurors  are  selected  by  the  various  nations  exhibiting,  and,  as 
a  rule,  in  all  past  exhibitions,  the  selection  has  been  unassail- 
able. Men  have  generally  been  chosen  who  were  specially 
qualified  for  the  task,  and  their  decision  should  be  final ;  for  if 
they,  as  experts,  could  not  give  correct  awards,  it  is  quite  cer- 
tain a  small  knot  of  men  without  any  of  their  qualifications 
cannot  do  so.  Moreover,  after  a  large  body  of  qualified  men 
have  given  their  decisions  in  good  faith,  and  after  full  discus- 
sion and  great  expenditure  of  labor  and  time,  it  is  most  dis- 
heartening to  find  them  altered,  or  set  aside,  by  another  body 
which  has  asked  them  to  act,  and  which  itself  is  absolutely 
incompetent  to  give  more  correct  opinions  ;  and  any  changes 
they  make  are  sure,  rightly  or  wrongly,  to  be  attributed  to 
underhand  influences  and  intrigues. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written,  pro  and  con,  upon  the 
desirability  of  having  juries  in  international,  or  other  exhi- 
bitions ;  and  in  the  London  Annual  International  Exhibitions, 
committees  of  selection  have  been  substituted  for  them. 
These  committees  act  previous  to  the  arrangement  of  the 
exhibition,  and  from  the  objects  sent  select  those  which  they 
consider  worthy  to  be  admitted.  The  admission  then 
becomes  the  test  of  excellence,  and  no  other  prize  is  given 
than  the  certificate  of  admission.  The  jury  system,  doubt- 
less, has  its  faults,  but  they  are  small  compared  with  those 
of  this  system.  Whatever  the  juries  do  is  open  to  criticism, 
.  for  they  work  where  all  the  world  can  go  and  judge  also. 
So  that  there  is  every  reason  why  they  should,  as  they  always 
are,  be  anxious  to  give  a  just  and  sensible  decision.  In  the 
case  of  the  committees  of  selection  no  one  knows  who  has 
been  rejected,  or  whether  the  best  have  been  chosen.  The 
writer  has  worked  both  on  juries  and  committees  of  selec- 


96  EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 

tion,  and  has  acquired  some  respect  for  the  working  of  the 
former,  but  none  for  the  latter ;  he  is  also  of  opinion  that 
public  opinion  agrees  with  his  own,  for  he  has  been  quite 
unable  to  ascertain  that  even  a  shadow  of  value  is  attached 
'to  the  certificates  of  admission.  It  is  of  considerable  im- 
portance that  the  local  and  foreign  commissions  should  exer- 
cise a  power  of  selection  over  the  exhibits,  for  which  space  is 
claimed  from  them,  so  that  the  real  purposes  and  interests  of 
the  exhibition  be  not  perverted  to  the  advertisement  of  com- 
mon and  uninteresting  materials.  As  a  rule,  this  need  only 
be  suggested  to  the  various  Commissions,  for  their  national 
pride  is  ordinarily  sufficient  to  keep  them  from  lowering  the 
character  of  their  nations  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  by  intro- 
ducing exhibits  discreditable  to  the  general  collection. 

On  the  whole,  the  jury  regulations  carried  out  at  the 
Vienna  Exhibition  were  good,  but  they  acted  badly  in  very 
many  cases,  owing  to  the  mischievous  system  of  control  over 
their  decisions,  and  the  very  indefinite  nature  of  the  prizes. 

The  number  of  the  jurors  was,  according  to  Rule  Y.,  regu- 
lated by  the  number  of  exhibitors  in  each  group ;  no  fairer 
plan  can  be  devised,  but  the  method  of  carrying  it  out  had 
one  objection.     The  regulation  as  it  stood  was  as  follows  : — 

For  every    10  to  100  exhibitors,  .         .         .  one  juror. 

"  101  to  200         *'  .         ...  two  jurors. 

"  201  to  300         '<  ...  three  jurors. 

"  301  to  400         "  ...  four  jurors. 

And  so  on. 

Now,  the  fault  in  this  arrangement  is  in  the  first  line,  for, 
as  a  rule,  there  are  the  fewest  exhibitors  of  the  most  impor- 
tant things.  Take,  for  instance,  the  case  of  Great  Britain  in 
the  Vienna  Exhibition  :  In  Group  1,  stone-ware,  porcelain  and 
glass,  she  had  but  thirty-six  exhibitors,  but  amongst  them 
there  were  the  Minton3,the  Royal  Worcester  Works,  Messrs. 
Copeland,  Wedgwood,  Pillatt,  Green  and  others,  who  are 
quite  unsurpassed  in  their  productions  ;  but  by  this  law,  they 
and  their  immense  interests  were  only  represented  by  one 
juror ;  whilst  France  had  three ;  Germany,  three ;  Japan, 
two;  Austria  and  Hungary,  seven,  and  so  on.     Now,  as  it 


REPORT   OF  MR.   ARCHER.  97 

happened,  the  exhibitors  all  through  the  Exhibition  were  of 
two  kinds, — those  who  manufactured  the  goods  they  exhibited, 
and  those  who  only  dealt  in  the  goods  they  displayed.  The 
latter  were  excluded  from  receiving  prizes,  but  their  numbers 
counted  in  the  allotment  of  jurors.  The  evil  of  this  arrange- 
ment must  be  apparent  at  a  glance.  The  remedy  seems  to  be, 
either  to  exclude  all  but  actual  manufacturers  from  the  sum- 
mation upon  which  the  allotment  is  made,  or  to  admit  traders 
to  the  competition  for  prizes.  There  are  many  reasons  why 
the  latter  should  be  adopted  ;  subject,  however,  to  stringent 
regulations.  One  reason  is,  that  if  the  promoters  of  inter- 
national exhibitions  were  to  depend  solely  upon  manufacturers, 
they  could  not  get  up  an  attractive  and  successful  exhibition. 
Enough  experience  has  been  obtained  to  assure  us  that  this  is 
a  fact.  Such  being  the  case,  it  is  a  hardship  that  those  who 
contribute  so  much  to  the  success  of  the  undertaking,  should 
be  precluded  from  a  participation  in  its  rewards.  Had  the 
medal  for  good  taste  at  Vienna  been  reserved  for  such  ex- 
hibitors, it  would  have  given  great  satisfaction,  and  relieved 
the  jurors  of  a  painful  duty  in  passing  by  those  whose  good 
taste  in  the  selection  of  the  best  goods  so  greatly  benefited 
the  general  effect  of  the  Exhibition,  and  was  a  quality  in  itself 
well  entitled  to  recognition. 

In  the  seventh  article  of  the  Vienna  regulations,  it  was  pro- 
vided that  "the  director-general  may  appoint  delegates,  who 
will  be  authorized  to  participate  in  the  transactions  of  the 
jury,  and  will  have  a  deliberative  voice."  This  is  not  a  good 
or  a  fair  regulation,  unless  it  is  limited  to  one  delegate,  be- 
cause it  leaves  it  in  the  hands  of  the  director-general  to  swamp 
the  decision  of  the  juries  whenever  so  inclined ;  and  the 
personal  experiences  of  the  writer  lead  him  to  believe  that  it 
is  a  dangerous  rule.  It  is  quite  right  and  advisable  that  the 
chief  executive  officer  should,  if  he  thinks  proper,  be  present, 
either  personally  or  by  deputy,  at  all  the  deliberations  of  the 
juries ;  but  beyond  seeing  that  they  are  carried  on  in  a  spirit 
of  fairness  and  in  accord  with  the  regulations,  he  ought  to 
have  no  power  to  interfere. 

Another,  and  a  similar  mistake,  exists  in  Rule  VIII. ,  which 
permits  the  Commissioners  of  Foreign  States  to  participate 
in  and  have  a  voice  in  the  deliberations  of  the  juries.     This 

13 


98  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

gives  to  small  states,  whose  commissioners  have  but  little  to 
do,  the  power  of  having  an  additional  juror,  who  can  go  to 
any  jury  and  give  his  vote  for  any  purpose  he  may  think 
proper ;  whilst  another  and  more  important  commissioner, 
from  having  great  occupation,  can  never  exercise  this  func- 
tion. This  is  one  evil  only,  but  another  must  be  very  ap- 
parent :  no  man  can  be  an  expert  in  all  the  classes  of  a  great 
exhibition ;  therefore  it  is  wrong  to  give  any  one  the  right  to 
act  where  he  is  otherwise  incompetent. 

The  fewer  the  classes  or  groups  into  which  an  exhibition  is 
divided,  the  greater  will  be  the  necessity  for  forming  sectional 
juries,  and  this  necessitates  a  more  liberal  representation  than 
that  pointed  out  above,  in  Rule  V.,  where,  in  order  to  remedy 
some  of  the  defects  noticed,  and  especially  the  one  most 
prominent,  it  should  be  arranged  that  twenty-five  exhibitors 
should  entitle  a  nation  to  one  juror ;  fifty  to  two  jurors  ;  and 
one  hundred  to  three  jurors ;  after  that,  one  per  hundred 
would  be  sufficient. 

The  operations  of  the  Vienna  juries  began  on  the  16th  of 
June  :  that  is  to  say,  six  weeks  after  the  ceremonial  of  the 
opening  took  place.  It  was  laid  down  as  a  sine  qua  non 
(Rule  XIX.)  that  they  were  to  terminate  on  the  last  day  of 
July.  Practically,  they  only  finished  a  day  or  two  before  the 
announcement  of  the  prizes,  on  the  18th  of  August.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  that  the  sooner  the  labors  of  the  juries 
are  begun  and  finished,  the  better,  because,  to  the  exhibitors 
who  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  the  prizes,  it  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  that  they  shall  have  the  longest  time 
possible  to  benefit  by  the  publicity  which  the  Exhibition 
gives.  Therefore  the  jury  work  ought  not  to  begin  later 
than  one  month  after  the  opening  day,  and  should  not  be 
allowed  to  exceed  six  weeks'  time. 

Whatever  prizes  are  ofiered  in  an  International  Exhibition, 
their  relative  values  ought  to  be  strictly  defined  and  adhered 
to.  This  certainly  was  not  the  case  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  define  them  in  Rule  XXII.,  and  the 
juries  gave  their  awards  accordingly,  and  where  an  exhibitor 
showed  progress  and  good  taste  they  awarded  him  the  two 
medals,  and  thus  in  the  same  way  for  meritorious  work  com- 
bined with  good  taste,  they  gave  the  medal  for  Merit  and 


EEPORT    OF   MR.    ARCHER.  99 

Good  Taste ;  but  these  double  awards  were  nearly  all  dis- 
allowed by  the  supreme  direction ;  and  when  the  absurdity 
of  the  position  thus  created  became  apparent,  then  it  was 
gazetted  that  all  the  medals  had  equal  value.  Thus,  to  a  very 
large  extent,  the  work  of  the  juries  was  superseded,  and  that 
which  remained  was  made  ridiculous  in  the  extreme ;  for 
what  could  be  more  absurd  than  to  give  to  two  exhibitors  of 
first  and  third  class  merit  prizes  of  equal  value  ?  These  mis- 
takes mostly  arose  from  a  desire  to  have  entire  control  over 
everything  connected  with  the  Exhibition,  even  to  the  delib- 
erations of  the  jury,  or  judges  as  they  would  be  more  properly 
called ;  and  from  want  of  firmness  to  adhere,  against  pres- 
sure, to  even  the  good  points  in  the  regulations.  They 
caused  great  dissatisfaction,  and  we  may  fairly  hope  that  they 
will  be  corrected  in  any  future  exhibition. 

THOMAS   C.  ARCHER,   F.R.S.E.,   F.S.A.S.,  F.B.S.E., 

Director  of  the  Edinburgh  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  Presideiit  of  the 
Royal  Scottish  Society  of  Arts,  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Ministry 
of  Crown  Domains,  Russia,  ^c,  S^o. 


100  EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 


MUSEUMS  OF  ART  AND  INDUSTRY -THEIR  INFLUENCE 
AND  ORGANIZATION. 


By    LOUIS    J.    HINTON. 


Group  XXII. 

Baron  Schwarz-Senborn,  the  conceiving  as  well  as  the 
directing  mind  of  the  Vienna  Exhibition,  announced,  early  in 
the  progress  of  preparing  for  that  enterprise,  that  one  of  the 
most  important,  if  not  the  chief,  feature  of  the  undertaking, 
would  be  the  illustratiug  of  the  progress  of  education  the 
world  over ; — the  various  methods  and  appliances  for  teach- 
ing in  use  in  the  different  countries  of  the  civilized  world. 
Museums  of  Art  and  Science  were,  of  course,  to  find  a  place 
in  this  display.  Their  value  as  educational  agencies  has  been 
too  clearly  demonstrated  in  states  where  they  have  been 
established  to  admit  of  leaving  them  out  of  the  Exhibition. 
It  was  thought  advisable  to  form  a  separate  group  of  their 
exhibit.  This  action  was  not,  perhaps,  the  best  that  could 
have  been  taken,  if  the  object  was  to  show  the  means  by 
which  the  public  taste  is  elevated,  and  how  such  institutions 
are  enabled  to  bring  a  practical  influence  to  bear  upon 
industry.  The  Museums  are  only  a  part  of  a  system  or  sys- 
tems that  have  their  root  in  the  common  schools ;  hence,  to 
gather  a  clear  idea  of  their  work,  it  is  necessary  to  go  behind 
or  below  them,  into  the  schools  where  drawing  is  taught,  and 
other  technical  knowledge  imparted,  in  order  to  make  a 
thorough  study  from  the  beginning,  and  so  on  up  to  the 
Museums  themselves,  before  a  clear  idea  can  be  gained  how 
the  known  results,'  existing  to-day  in  industrial  art-training, 
are  reached.  By  this  arrangement  of  one-half  of  the  subject- 
matter  in  one  group  and  the  other  half  in  another,  it  was  made 
a  difficult  undertaking  to  describe  exactly  what  was  shown  at 
Vienna.  It  is  impossible  to  confine  the  delineation  to  either 
group  without  marring  the  usefulness  of  what  information  could 
be  collected.     To  simplify  the  complex,  however  desirable,  is 


REPORT   OF  MR.   HINTON.  101 

not  always  so  easy  that  the  Austrian  Direction  need  be  blamed 
for  failing  to  exhaust  the  whole  subject  of  the  influence  of 
Art  and  Industrial  Museums  upon  public  taste  and  industry, 
as  their  first  circular  relating  to  this  subject  would  have  led 
its  readers  to  believe  they  intended  to  do,  if  it  were  possible 
of  accomplishment.  What  they  did  achieve  was  certainly 
deserving  of  the  highest  commendation.  What  they  will  yet 
do,  after  the  hurly-burly  rush  and  hurry  of  the  Exhibition  is 
over,  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  serve  to  further  elucidate  the 
value  or  defects  of  this  important  factor  in  education. 

There  can  be  but  little  doubt  but  that  the  gentlemen  who 
will  have  the  task  assigned  them  by  the  Austrian  government 
of  making  up  the  official  report  on  Group  XXII.  will  com- 
pile from  the  statistics  and  detailed  information  furnished 
them  from  many  sources  a  most  valuable  and  interesting 
document.  This  must  be  waited  for  with  patience,  as  such 
reports  do  not  usually  appear  until  a  lapse  of  six  or  twelve 
mouths  after  the  close  of  the  exhibition  that  has  called  them 
into  being.  The  fact  is  to  be  regretted,  for  such  official  data 
would  be  extremely  valuable  in  this  or  any  other  report  deal- 
ing with  the  same  subject. 

One  official  document  can  be  given — that  referred  to  above, 
as  it  preceded  the  Exhibition  and  endeavored  to  convey,  in  a 
rapidly  sketched  outline,  what  the  Austrian  Direction  desired 
might  be  done.  This  was  "Special  Programme,  No.  12,  for 
Group  XXII." 

This  paper  is  in  itself  an  evidence  of  the  deeply-rooted 
hold  Art  and  Industrial  Museums  and  art-teaching,  as  applied 
to  industry,  have  taken  in  Austria  ;  and,  having  been  written, 
it  is  thought,  by  Herr  Jacob  Falke,  the  acting  head  of  the 
Vienna  Museum,  it  may  be  taken  as  the  utterance  of  one 
who  is  no  mean  authority  on  the  subject  whereof  he  writes. 

This  special  programme  runs  as  follows,  omitting  the  excess 
of  title  that  prefaces  it : — 

"  Among  the  instructive  establishments  of  our  time  which  have 
most  rapidly  proved  to  be  of  great  utility,  the  Museums  of  Fine 
Arts  apphed  to  Industry  must  certainly  be  included,  and  almost 
every  city  of  importance  possesses  such  an  institution.  This  fact 
alone  would  suffice  to  justify  the  attempt  we  will  make  to  show 
their  organization  and  influence. 


102  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

"  These  institutions  stand,  as  well  by  the  object  they  have  in 
view  as  by  the  results  they  obtain,  between  real  life  and  abstract 
theories  ;  they  are  the  mediators  between  the  past  and  the  future  of 
the  development  of  Fine  Arts  applied  to  Industry.  The  eminent 
position  taken  by  modern  industrial  art  for  the  last  few  years,  fur- 
nishes the  best  proof  of  the  justness  of  the  remark  made  above. 

"  It  may  certainly  satisf}^  and  rejoice  professional  men  to  see  the 
catreful  manipulation  of  different  raw  materials,  and  the  use  made 
of  machines  ingeniously  constructed  ;  but  if  a  more  elevated  taste 
was  not  combined  with  the  technical  process  in  the  execution  or 
ornamentation  of  these  products,  one  could  hardly  sa}^  that  industry 
is  improving. 

"  One  of  the  most  remarkable  improvements  made  b}'  industr}'' 
dates  back  from  the  time  when  the  idea  first  occurred  to  collect 
carefully  together  the  rich  treasures  of  former  centuries,  which  had 
remained  so  long  unused,  to  make  model  collections  of  them,  to 
take  up  again  and  to  organize  the  progress  made  by  our  industrious 
ancestors  in  some  branches  of  industrial  art,  and  in  those  objects 
produced  by  manual  skill. 

"  The  technical  skill  with  which  any  object  is  manufactured  is 
not  sufficient  to  produce  an  object  answering  the  exigencies  of  a 
connoisseur.  An  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  task  to  be  fulfilled, 
the  right  feeling  of  the  most  suitable  form ;  in  short,  taste  in  the 
invention  and  execution  of  each  article,  has  become  an  indispensable 
quality  for  industrial  production,  and  it  alone  raises  the  object 
manufactured  to  the  rank  of  a  work  of  industrial  art,  i.  e.,  an  object 
not  only  useful  but  also  satisfying  the  requirements  of  good  taste. 

"  Most  of  the  industrial  schools  and  institutions  for  promoting 
the  study  of  Fine  Arts  applied  to  Industrj^,  which  under  the  direc- 
tion of  experienced  connoisseurs  fight  ever^^  day  with  greater  success 
against  the  old  methods  of  proceeding  and  unthinking  routine,  owe 
their  foundation  to  the  acknowledgment  of  these  truths. 

"  Still  the  creation  of  Museums  of  Fine  Art  applied  to  Industry, 
of  those  treasures  of  the  history  of  art,  are  still  more  the  conse- 
quence of  the  right  feeling  of  the  ennobling  influence  of  art  upon 
industr}'.  It  is  from  this  point  of  view  that  the  merits  of  the 
Museums  of  Fine  Art  applied  to  Industry  of  Paris,  London,  Edin- 
burgh, Moscow,  Berlin,  Stuttgart,  Munich,  Weimar,  G-otha,  Limo- 
ges, Lyons,  etc.,  just  as  richly  endowed  as  they  are  generall}^  useful 
to  all,  must  be  appreciated. 

"  After  these  come  those  museums,  which,  although  not  directly 
promoting  Fine  Art  and  Industrial  Art,  have  indirectly  the  same 
object,  by  pursuing  a  scientific  or  statistical  object.  These  institu- 
tions are  also  the  result  of  modern  efforts  toward  civilization  ;  as,  for 


EEPORT   OF   MR.   HINTON.  103 

instance,  the  German  Museum  at  Nuremberg,  the  Romano-German 
Museum  at  Maj^ence,  the  Museum  Richartz  at  Cologne,  the  museums 
at  Ha-^'re,  Amiens,  Toulouse,  etc. 

"  It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  more  particulars,  to  prove  the 
great  utility  of  these  creations  of  modern  times  for  the  wants  of  our 
generation  :  the  great  number  of  visitors,  the  extended  use  made  of 
them,  and  the  influence  they  exercise  upon  modern  industry,  which 
is  easy  to  remark,  are  matters  of  fact  which  every  professional  man 
acknowledges  with  pleasure. 

"  These  museums  attain  their  purpose  b}^  different  methods. 
Firstly,  by  their  collections,  which  are  arranged  with  precaution 
and  discrimination,  and  which  procure  as  much  to  the  eye  of  the 
connoisseur  as  to  the  unprofessional  man,  a  reall}^  contemplative  les- 
son. Onl}^  instructive  and  most  perfect  objects  find  room  in  their 
chests  and  on  their  walls.  There,  one  can  pursvte  historically 
gradual  development  and  progress  in  the  production  of  every  sort 
of  article,  and  an  attentive  spectator  is  enabled  to  follow  the  laws 
of  industrial  progress  in  the  direction  mentioned.  There  is  no  room 
for  vain  pomp  in  those  establishments,  where  everything  has  as  its 
aim,  to  show  how  the  value  of  every  single  article  can. gain  by  a 
tasteful  transformation,  which,  far  from  prejudicing  its  sale,  aug- 
ments it. 

"  Secondly,  those  museums  exercise  a  very  beneficial  influence  on 
the  schools  of  Fine  Arts  applied  to  Industry-,  which  are  combined 
with  them.  The  living  word  is  found  on  the  inanimate  object,  and 
the  explanation  on  the  model.  The  teachers  engaged  here  explain 
to  their  scholars  all  those  important  qualities  which  everj^  production 
of  industry,  even  that  destined  for  every  day's  use,  must  possess,  in 
order  to  answer  the  exigencies  of  taste.  The  scholars  learn,  there- 
fore, to  appreciate  the  value  of  a  certain  simplicity,  to  understand 
and  make  use  of  the  laws  of  the  style  of  symmetry,  and  thus  become 
those  men  who,  later  on,  furnish  the  market  with  artistic  objects, 
i.  e.,  with  such  objects  as  are  remarkable  for  their  utility  and 
moderate  ornamentation. 

"  All  the  useful  methods  employed  by  the  museums  of  Fine  Arts 
applied  to  Industry  to  exercise  their  influence,  are  to  be  exhibited 
and  demonstrated  for  the  first  time  to  the  public  in  this  group,  and 
in  such  a  manner  that  ever}^  museum  will  be  allowed  to  organize  its 
own  exhibition  in  the  manner  the  president  of  the  institution  may 
think  best  fitted  to  have  it  worthily  represented,  at  the  Universal 
Exhibition.  Still,  iii  order  that  the  whole  exhibition  of  this  group 
may  be  as  complete  and  instructive  as  possible,  it  would  be  as  much 
conformable  to  the  purpose  as  desirable,  that  each  single  institution 
should  previously  communicate   in  which  branch  it   more  particu- 


104  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

larly  wishes  to  exhibit.  Should  this  proposition  be  favorably  ac- 
cepted, each  artist  and  industrial  workman  will  find  enough  to  inspire 
him  in  his  branch ;  and,  to  mention  only  one  thing  particularly, 
modern  ornamentation  will  become  richer  in  new  mode's  of  design. 

"  But,  in  order  to  prove  to  the  public  the  practical  influence  of 
these  institutions,  it  is  indispensable  that  the  publications  of  each 
single  museum  should  be  exhibited  in  samples  and  in  single  num- 
bers ;  by  this,  we  mean,  more  especiall}^  the  reproductions — plaster 
casts,  galvanaplastic  impressions,  photographs — and  the  artistic 
literary  publications  of  the  museums.  Concerning  the  former,  they 
must  be  confined,  not  only  because  of  the  space,  to  these  works  of 
art,  the  originals  of  which  are  in  the  possession  of  the  country 
exhibiting.  As  to  the  latter,  we  cannot  suflScientl}^  express  the 
desire  to  see  them  exhibited  in  collections  as  complete  as  possible. 

"  Finall}",  the  museums  are  requested  to  giA^e  exact  statistical 
statements  of  the  number  of  visitors  to  their  institutions,  of  the 
organization  of  their  schools,  etc.,  in  order  to  furnish  materials  for 
the  statistics  of  the  museums  of  Fine  Art  applied  to  Industr3^ 

"  Signed  b}^  the  President  of  the  Imperial  Commission :  Arch- 
Duke  Eegnier ;  and  the  Chief  Manager,  Baron  Schwarz-Senborn. 
December  10,  1871." 

It  was  a  perfectly  feasible  idea,  and  one  easy  to  execute, 
to  show  the  official  arrangement  of  the  different  institutions 
mentioned  in  the  programme,  and  to  exhibit  a  collection  of 
the  objects  belonging  to  the  museums  of  Art  as  applied  to 
Industry. 

Any  of  the  museums  mentioned  above,  that  at  Edinburgh, 
for  instance,  might,  through  its  president,  have  sent  a  detailed 
statement  of  when  tlie  institution  was  founded  and  opened  to 
the  public,  the  amount  of  its  endowment,  its  size,  number  of 
rooms  or  galleries,  a  list  of  their  contents,  estimated  value  of 
the  collection,  number  of  visitors  each  year,  etc.,  and  we 
should  be  but  a  very  little  nearer  to  a^  clear  or  precise  knowl- 
edge of  the  effect  produced' by  the  museum  upon  the  people 
of  Edinburgh.  It  is  clear  that  such  information,  so  desirable 
to  attain,  must  be  sought  for  outside,  and  not  within  the 
museum,  even  if  it  be  possible  to  glean  it  at  all. 

We  can  all  fancy  the  immense  influence  the  classical  works 
of  our  language  have  had  and  still  exert  upon  the  English- 
speaking  race.  There  is  no  one  among  us  who  can  measure 
its  extent ;  but  we  might  imagine  our  loss,  if  we  were  to  be 


REPOET   or   MR.    HINTON.  105 

deprived  of  our  Shakspeare,  our  Milton,  and  all  the  other 
bright  stars  in  the  galaxy  of  literature. 

So  it  is  with  the  museums  of  Arts  as  applied  to  Industry. 
They  are  silent  instructors,  with  no  record  other  than  so  many 
visitors  in  so  many  years.  The  schools  of  arts  generally 
attached  to  the  museums  stand  upon  a  different  footing,  as  it 
is  possible  to  keep  some  account  of  the  work  they  perform. 

The  author  of  the  special  programe  clearly  saw  the  difficulty 
with  respect  to  the  museums.  Although  he  forbore  to  enlarge 
upon  that  theme,  he  clearly  indicated  how  desirable  it  would 
be  if  such  information  as  to  the  extent  and  reach  of  the  in- 
fluence of  museums  of  Arts  as  applied  to  Industry  could  be 
given.  This  is  still  unknown,  except  as  it  can  be  gathered 
from  the  opinions  of  those  best  entitled  to  speak  upon  the 
subject,  and  we  believe  no  attempt  was  made  to  show  its  ex- 
tent, by  any  of  the  states  which  have  found  their  profit  in 
establishing  centres  of  instruction  in  the  Fine  Arts  as  applied 
to  Industry. 

The  Austrians  certainly  did  not  attempt  to  show,  in  a  direct 
way,  how  they  had  been  and  are  still  benefited  hy  their 
beautiful  museum.  The  endeavor  will  be  made,  ere  this 
Report  is  closed,  to  state  how  they  did  show,  indirectly, 
somewhat  of  the  profits  reaped  by  them,  in  payment  of  their 
enlightened  encouragement  extended  to  the  Fine  Arts  and 
to  Industry. 

The  managers  of  the  Vienna  Museum  of  Art  and  Industry 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  made  a  fuller  exhibit  of  the 
scope  and  object  of  their  institution,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
some  disagreement,  or  dispute,  as  to  the  proper  space  they 
should  occupy  in  the  exhibition,  which  occurred,  it  is  believed, 
between  them  and  the  Chief  Manager.  Their  energj^  was 
thus  circumscribed  and  turned  into  other  channels ;  as,  for 
instance,  helping  to  arrange  the  diiferent  sections  of  the  Aus- 
trian Department  to  the  best  advantage.  Thus,  in  the  court 
where  the  Bohemian  «ut-glass  ware  was  shown,  Herr  Loley- 
meyer,  the  chief  manufacturer,  was  in  constant  communica- 
tion with  the  museum  authorities,  consulting  with  them  as  to 
what  was  best  to  do.  The  results  of  their  joint  labor  looked 
like  a  fairy  scene,  and  produced  one  of  the  most  interesting 

14 


106  EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 

displays  in  the  Austrian  section,  if  not  in  the  whole  Exhibition 
buildino^. 

It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Museum  of  Fine 
Arts,  as  applied  to  industry,  had  been,  and  is  still  a  power 
among  the  Bohemian  glass-workers ;  local  museums  having 
been  formed,  whose  contents  are  so  arranged  as  to  bear 
directly  upon  the  industry  of  the  place  where  they  are  estab- 
lished. The  Viennese  Museum  supplied  many  models,  while 
the  neighboring  gentry  and  manufacturers  were  solicited  to 
give  or  loan  such  objects  of  interest  as  they  had  and  could 
spare,  bearing  upon  the  business  sought  to  be  improved. 
Lectures  are  also  given,  and  books,  written  to  teach  the 
principles  of  Art  Taste,  as  applied  to  Industry,  circulate  in 
the  district.  The  schools  also  form  a  source  from  whence 
are  drawn  new  supplies  of  Art  workmen.  These  various 
means  and  aims  of  the  Art  Museum  have  certainly  improved 
the  value  of  this  special  product  of  Bohemia,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  Art-industries  known. 

Hcrr  Loleymeyer  has  helped  to  advance  the  whole  district 
— as  oftentimes  one  wide-minded  manufacturer  will  do — by 
his  early  recognition  of  the  value  of  Museums  of  Art  and 
Science,  and  his  hearty  practical  cooperation  with  the 
Museum  authorities.  Here,  then,  is  one  instance  of  the 
direct  influence  of  the  Gewerbe  museums ;  and  although 
the  fact  is  not  announced,  or  to  be  found,  in  the  display 
made  in  Group  XXII.,  it  is  none  the  less  real. 

This  instance  stands  not  alone.  Any  one  who  visited 
the  Vienna  Exhibition  during  the  past  summer  or  fall,  will 
remember  the  large  hall  leading  from  the  southern  entrance 
to  the  great  Rotunda,  entirely  occupied  by  one  manufactur- 
ing firm — Philip  Haas  &  Son — with  specimens  of  the  car- 
pets, rich  hangings  and  chamber-suites,  for  which  the  firm  is 
rapidly  becoming  famous.  This  hall  was  arranged  and  fitted 
up  entirely  from  the  designs  and  under  the  direction  of  the 
professors  and  pupils  of  the  School  oS  Arts. 

It  is  also  a  fact  that  carpet-weaving  and  its  associated 
industries,  at  Vienna,  have  drawn  much  valuable  information 
from  the  models  and  drawings,  bearing  upon  this  handicraft, 
collected  witliin  the  walls  of  the  new  Museum,  not  to  men- 
tion their  influence  in  the  improvement  of  the  workmen. 


REPORT   OF   MR.   HINTON.  107 

There  were  many  similar  instances  scattered  through  the 
whole  Austrian  Section.  Indeed  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a 
single  handicraft,  where  taste  is  needed,  that  had  not  been 
benefited,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  this  influence.  These 
are  practical  illustrations  of  good  efl'ected,  that  can  be  appre- 
ciated by  any  one  who  understands  that  an  improvement  in 
industrial  art  means  an  improvement  in  the  community  and 
an  increase  of  the  value  of  the  work  performed. 

To  give  even  a  brief  resume  of  the  models,  etc.,  exhibited 
by  the  Vienna  Museum  in  Group  XXII.,  would  be  to  turn 
this  Report  into  something  very  like  a  catalogue. 

The  literary  Art  publications,  either  written  by  members 
of  the  faculty  or  under  the  direct  encouragement  of  the 
Museum  authorities,  occupy  the  first  place  on  the  list.  The 
writing  and  spreading  abroad  of  works  upon  the  Applica- 
tion of  Art  to  Industry,  upon  Taste,  upon  Study,  and  kin- 
dred themes',  is  one  among  the  many  useful  labors  performed 
by  the  Museum  of  Arts  applied  to  Industry.  These  works 
numbered  thirty-five. 

There  were,  also,  nearly  four  hundred  gypsum  models, 
beside  galvauaplastic  impressions,  photographs  and  specimen 
copies  of  students'  work. 

The  Vienna  Museum  may  be  said  to  be  one  result  of  the 
influence  of  the  idea  that  gave  rise  to  the  South  Kensing- 
ton Museum.  Herr  Jacob  Falke,  keeper  of  the  Austrian 
Museum  of  Art  and  Industry,  in  his  History  of  Modern 
Taste  (Geschichte  des  Modernen  Geschmacks) ,  writes  as  fol- 
lows on  this  point : — 

"When  the  works  of  industry  of  all  nations  were  brought 
together  at  the  first  London  Exhibition,  in  1851,  the  deplorable 
state  of  taste  was  made  palpable  to  the  perception  of  all  those  who 

would  and  could  see There  was  only  one  nation 

wise  enough  to  take  to    heart  so  important  a  lesson,  and' proceed 
at   once  to    turn   it   to    account — the    English.     .....     A 

Museum  of  Art  Industry,  that  of  South  Kensington,  was  then 
founded.*  This  Museum,  therefore,  must  be  considered  as  a  result 
of  the  experiences  made  at  the  first  International  Exhibition.  It 
has   now  become   celebrated   through   all   countries.     It  was   not 

*  This  is  not  quite  correct,  as  the  Museum  was  first  established  in  Marlborough 
House,  now  the  residence  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 


108  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

» 

intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  artist  alone,  but  for  that  of  the  gen- 
eral public  as  well.  But  matters  did  not  rest  with  the  creation  of 
the  South  Kensington  Museum.  A  large  School  of  Art,  compris- 
ing all  branches  of  elementary  Art  instruction,  was  established  in 
connection  with  it.  Since  great  artists,  nowadays,  do  not  make 
designs  for  manufacturers  as  they  once  did,  it  was  found  necessary 
to  educate  technical  designers,  painters  and  sculptors,  and  to  make 
them  into  accomplished  artists,  and  to  educate  teachers  competent 
to  conduct  schools  of  design  in  an  artistic  spirit.  Moreover,  draw- 
ing schools  were  established  in  all  the  manufacturing  towns  ;  circu- 
lating collections  of  objects  for  exhibition  were  organized,  and 
competitive  examinations  and  distributions  of  prizes  established. 
Competent  persons  were  sent  out  to  give  lectures  on  all  subjects 
relative  to  Art  manufacture  ;  a  whole  branch  of  literature  on  this 
province  of  Art  w^as  called  into  existence ;  in  short,  a  stir  was  made 
in  ever}^  direction  in  which  any  practical  result  was  to  be  hoped 
for..  These  efforts  have  been  crowned  with  success,  and  it  has  been 
proved  that  something  could  be  achieved  in  this  new  way.  After 
the  lapse  of  eleven  years,  at  the  second  London  Exhibition  (1862) 
it  became  evident  that  England,  which,  till  then,  had  been  consid- 
ered as  taking  the  lowest  rank  in-  matters  of  taste,  stood  side  by 
side  with  France,  in  an  equally  high  position  in  these  respects. 

Austria  was  the  first  among  the  continental  States 

to  turn  to  profit  the  example,  even  before  France  had  begun  to 
make  new  eflbrts,  and  in  Maj^,  1864,  a  Museum  was  established  at 
Vienna  after  the  model  of  that  of  South  Kensington — the  Austrian 
Museum  of  Art  and  Industr3^" 

The  italics  are  not  in  the  original.  Herr  Jacob  Falke  here 
indicates  the  great  want  of  the  age — the  need  of  men  who 
are  really  artists  and  sculptors,  to  step  down  from  the  pedes- 
tals upon  which  the}^  have  elevated  themselves,  and  mingle  a 
little  more  amid  the  work  of  the  world,  as  did  the  great  men 
of  old.  ^ 

Grinley  Gibbon,  or  Flaxman,  did  not  injure  themselves, 
or  lessen  their  after  fame  one  iota,  but  on  the  contrary  they 
increased  it,  by. exercising  the  powers  God  had  given  them, 
the  first-named  at  Saint  Paul's  Cathedral,  where  he  was  the 
guide  and  inspiration  of  a  crowd  of  carvers  and  artisans,  the 
latter,  working  for  Josiah  Wedgwood  designing  cups  and 
saucers,  etc.,  for  common  use,  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
of  art  and  classic  taste  ;  not  to  mention  the  host  of  other  great 


REPORT   or   MR.   HINTON.  109 

men,  long  departed,  who  despised  nothing  in  industry  that 
could  be  made  artistic. 

The  museums  of  Art  and  Industry  will  have  performed  a 
great  work,  if  they  do  nothing  more  than  cause  a  change  in 
this  respect,  as  there  are  signs  that  they  have  been  able  to  do, 
not  thoroughly  as  j^et,  but  they  have  made  a  beginning.  It 
is  no  longer  a  rarity  to  find  men  who  have  acquired  a  repu- 
tation for  their  art-work,  designing,  quietly  and  unobtrusively, 
furniture,  plate,  wrought-iron  gates,  carvings  for  stone  and 
wood-workers,  carpets,  majolica  ware,  etc.,  both  in  England 
and  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

The  rank  and  file  of  labor  need  commanders  who  shall  be 
not  alone  bent  on  conceiving  great  projects.  Let  a  man  come 
among  them  who  can  shape  out  great  things,  and  he  will  make 
small  things  great  also,  if  he  is  in  earnest  and  loves  the  work  ; 
especially,  as  is  now  the  case  in  most  of  the  leading  countries 
in  Europe,  if  the  rank  and  file  have  had  a  knowledge  of  art 
imparted  to  them  to  prepare  them  for  their  life's  work. 

Another  fact  has  been  demonstrated  so  plainly  that  it  is 
now  generally  admitted  as  a  truism,  by  the  efi'orts  put  forth 
duriug  the  last  fifty  years  to  elevate  the  masses ;  i.  e.,  "Those 
who  can  be  taught  to  write  can  learn  to  draw."  This  fact 
established  destroys  the  awe  that  has  so  long  hedged  in  the 
Fine  Arts,  and  is  another  contribution  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury to  the  freedom  of  mankind.  Thus  kid-glove  artists,  who 
have  withdrawn  from  the  company  of  artisans  and  manufac- 
turers, have  conferred  an  incalculable  benefit  upon  the  world 
at  large,  in  forcing  upon  it  the  conviction  that  all  of  God's 
gifts  are  universal,  if  not  allowed  to  perish  from  neglect,  or 
ignorance  of  their  existence.  So,  if  these  artists  have  become 
so  refined  as  to  fear  that  the  dust  of  the  workshop  may  soil 
their  fiur,  white  hands,  the  workers  will  take  up  the  task, 
and  in  the  endeavor  to  elevate  their  owii  powers  and  taste 
will  elevate  the  whole  community.  This  is  peculiarly  in  a 
line  with  the  spirit  of  American  growth.  It  is  from  the  bot- 
tom that  we  work  upward  to  the  top.  We  may  hope  to 
develop  a  grand  school  of  American  Art  when  we  have  made 
the  whole  people  familiar  with  its  principles ;  precisely  as  we 
formed  great  men  in  politics,  in  war,  and  work,  by  making  the 
whole  nation  feel  profoundly.     This  accomplished,  the  cap- 


110  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

tain  steps  forward,  his  lieutenants  are  ready  to  help  him,  and 
an  army  is  at  hand,  almost  as  great  as  himself,  and  without 
whom  he  would  be  powerless  to  carry  out  the  ideas  he  con- 
ceives for  his  country's  good. 

However  galling  it  may  be  to  our  feelings,  we  must  admit 
that  in  many  things  the  people  of  Europe  are  ahead  of  us,  as 
we  surpass  them  in  others.  The  Vienna  Exposition  showed 
that  we  are,  at  least,  behind  in  the  matter  of  education — not 
that  imparted  in  our  common  schools  and  colleges,  for  as  far 
as  they  extend  they  are  unsurpassed  in  their  teaching ;  but 
the  education  that  makes  fairly-rounded  men  and  women,  not 
one-sided  individuals,  who,  when  they  really  enter  life  have 
to  unlearn  much  and  learn  more  ere  their  labors  are  of  any 
account. 

We  have  a  broad  basis  to  build  upon,  yet  it  is  not  so  broad 
or  so  comprehensive  a  system  as  that  established  by  Austria 
for  her  subjects.  Like  her  German  neighbors,  she  recognizes 
the  fact  that  there  is  no  royal  or  easy  road  to  learning ;  hence 
she  begins  low  down,  the  school  law  framed  in  1869  marking 
her  "new  departure." 

Mr.  Lytton,  an  attache  of  the  British  Legation  at  Vienna 
writes  of  this  law  : — 

"  One  of  the  greatest  benefits  conferred  upon  the  working  classes 
of  Austria  is  the  General  School  Code  of  the  14th  May,  1869,  which 
renders  national  education  compulsory,  and  greatly  elevates  the 
standard  of  it.  In  accordance  with  this  law,  compulsory  attendance 
at  school  begins  with  every  child  at  the  age  of  six,  and  is  continued 
uninterruptedly  to  the  age  of  fourteen.  But  even  then  (that  is  to 
say,  at  the  end  of  his  fourteenth  year)  the  child  is  only  allowed  to 
leave  school  on  production  of  certified  proof  that  he  has  thoroughly 
acquired  the  full  amount  of  information  which  this  great  law  fixes  as 
the  sine  qua  non  minimum  of  education  for  every  Austrian  citizen. 

"  The  prescribed  educational  course  comprises  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic ;  history — chiefly  although  not  exclusively  that  of 
the  native  countr}",  embracing  the  political  constitution  and  general 
social  structure  of  it ;  geography  in  the  same  sense ;  all  the  more 
important  branches  of  physical  science,  geometr}',  geometrical  and 
free-hand  drawing,  singing,  ^athletic  exercise. 

"  Children  employed  in  large  factories  or  prevented  by  special 
circumstances  from  attending  the  communal  school,  may  complete 
or  continue  their  education  at  any  special  school  supported  by  their 


EEPORT    OF   MR.    HINTON.  Ill 

emploj'ers,  and  the  emploj'ers  are  authorized  to  found  schools 
for  that  purpose.  But  it  is  an  absolute  condition  that  all  sucfi 
schools  shall  provide  the  full  amount  and  quality  of  education  re- 
quired by  law,  and  otherwise  fulfil  all  the  obligations  prescribed 
by  the  General  School  Code.  Every  school,  whether  private  or 
public,  is  subject  to  the  inspection  of  the  state.  In  places  where  a 
special  trade-school  exists,  the  employer  is  bound  to  send  his  ap- 
prentices to  it. 

"  In  addition  to  the  subjects  of  instruction  above  enumerated, 
every  child  is  simultaneously  provided  religious  instruction  in  the 
creed  in  which  he  or  she  is  born.  The  local  ecclesiastical  authorities 
or  notables  of  the  church  or  religious  community  to  which  each  child 
belongs,  are  entitled  and  indeed  bound  hj  law  to  provide  competent 
teachers  for  this  purpose  ;  but  this  religious  instruction,  which  is 
altogether  denominational,  and  on  a  footing  of  impartial  equality 
for  all  sects,  is  kept  b}^  the  state  carefull}-  apart  from  the  secular 
education,  which  is  in  every  case  obligatory,  and  with  which  it  is, 
in  no  case,  allowed  to  interfere." 

These  primary  schools  are  of  three  grades,  respectively 
of  three,  four  and  six  classes.  The  course  of  instruction  in 
primary  schools  of  four  classes,  is  extended  in  one  direction 
into  the  Gymnasia,  and  in  the  other  into  the  Real  or  Practi- 
cal Schools.  On  the  Gymnasia  rests  the  University,  and  all 
the  special  schools  in  which  language  and  its  associated  cul- 
ture predominates.  On  the  Real  or  Practical  Schools  rest 
the  Polytechnic  Institute,  and  all  the  special  schools  in  which 
mathematics  and  the  natural  sciences  are  taught,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  great  industries  of  the  nation. 

But  all  the  scholars  cannot  reach  the  Universities  or  the 
Polytechnic  Institute.  The  majority  are  needed  for  work- 
men. As  is  indicated  in  the  General  School  Code,  it  is  pos- 
sible for  the  young  artisan  to  pursue  a  course  of  studies 
adapted  to  his  wants,  and  fitted  to  help  him  on  further  yet,  if 
there  be  the  right  stuff  in  him.  The  further  instruction  of 
lads  after  leaving  school  and  entering  into  apprenticeship, 
is  carried  on  with  the  assistance  and  special  inspection  of 
Chambers  of  Commerce  and  local  associations  of  tradesmen. 
The  instruction  is  given  on  Sundays  and  holidays — except 
high  feasts — and  in  the  morning  and  evening  of  other  clays. 
It  is  not  confined  to  a  review  of  the  rudimentary  studies,  but 
is  extended  to  higher  arithmetical  calculations,  book-keeping, 


112  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

bank  dealiugs,  business  correspondence  and  forms,  natural 
nistory,  and  particularly  to  drawing.  A  record  of  attend- 
ance is  kept  and  delinquent  parents  and  employers  are  fined, 
and  proprietors  of  large  establishments  are  sul)ject  4o  arrest 
and  imprisonment  for  persistent  neglect  in  respect  to  their 
apprentices  and  other  juvenile  operatives. 

The  special  schools  are  open  to  artisans,  whether  appren- 
tices or  not,  if  they  want  to  avail  themselves  of  their  help. 

The  Museum  of  Arts  as  applied  to  Industry,  as  its  name 
implies,  is  part  of  this  system  of  thorough  education.  To 
borrow  from  one  of  the  Museum's  published  works  : — "  The 
object  is  to  furnish  material  by  which  Art-knowledge  shall 
be  applied  to  industry,  and  thus  produce  an  elevated  taste, 
which  is  so  much  to  be  desired  at  the  present  day." 

A  brief  resume  of  the  growth  of  this  institution  may  per- 
haps prove  interesting,  as  Massachusetts  is  treading  in  the 
same  path  as  Austria. 

The  chief  impetus  to  the  formation  of  the  Museum  was 
given  by  the  London  Exhibition  of  1862.  It  will  be  seen, 
further  on,  why  this  Exhibition  proved  so  interesting  to  the 
people  of  Germany,  Austria  and  France.  The  Exposition 
of  1851  had  agitated  the  question,  but  in  1855  the  roar  of 
cannon  from  the  Black  Sea  prevented  any  active  result.  In 
1862,  public  attention  was  again  aroused  by  Professor 
Rudolph  Von  Eitelberger,  who  had  been  sent  to  England  to 
report  on  the  comparison  of  Austrian  industry  with  that  of 
other  nations. 

He  gave  a  glowing  account  of  Art  in  foreign  lauds,  and 
the  institutions  for  its  promotion,  especially  speaking  of  the 
South  Kensington  Museum  at  London.  The  report  was 
laid  before  the  Emperor,  and  in  the  fall  of  1862  the  pro- 
fessor was  notified  to  prepare  for  assisting  in  establishing  a 

Museum. 

The  want  of  funds  in  the  treasury  was  a  great  hindrance 
to  doing  anything  at  public  expense.  Finally,  Duke  Reguier 
obtained  from  the  Emperor  a  formal  permission  to  found  an 
"  Aesterreichischen  Museum  fur  Kunst  und  Industry."  His 
Majesty  (Francis  Joseph)  appointed  the  Arch-Duke  Regnier 
as  Protector  of  the  Museum.  Professor  Eitelberger  was 
appointed  Director,  and  Hcrr  Jacob  Falke,  Custodian.     The 


EEPORT   or   MR.    HINTON.  113 

Imperial  Ball  House  was  lent  for  a  temporary  abiding  place 
for  the  Museum,  and  it  was  opened  May  31,  1864.  By 
the  gifts  of  the  Court  and  State  the  Museum  was  rapidly 
increased,  and  many  collections  were  procured.  The  need 
of  a  special  building  for  the  Museum  was  more  and  more 
apparent.  On  February  7,  1867,  a  deputation  of  curators 
waited  on  the  Emperor,  and -asked  to  be  allowed  to  proceed 
with  the  erection  of  a  permanent  Museum.  The  permission 
was  given,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  the  plans  of 
Architect  Heiurich  Ritter  von  Ferstel  were  submitted  and 
approved.  The  building  was  completed  November.,  1871, 
and  was  then  opened. 

It  is  in  the  Italian  Renaissance  style.  The  exterior  walls 
are  of  red  brick,  trimmed  with  sandstone.  Portraits  of  artist 
celebrities,  executed  in  majolica,  are  placed  around  the  build- 
ing. Entering,  we  go  through  the  vestibule,  where  are  twoi 
tablets,  commemorating  the  foundation  of  the  Museum  and 
the  Art-School,  from  which  a  door  on  the  right  leads  into  a 
closed  court ;  on  the  left  are  the  steps  leading  to  the  school 
floor.  Vestibule,  court  and  stairs  are  adorned  with  appro- 
priate ornaments.  The  square  court,  extending  the  entire 
height  of  the  building,  is  surrounded  by  arcades,  supported 
by  pillars  and  monoliths.  Light  comes  through  a  double 
glass  roof.     Around  the  court  are  eight  exhibition  halls. 

The  Museum  comprises  collections  of  objects  in  all 
branches  of  Art  and  Industry ;  gypsum  figures,  a  library, 
drawings,  ornamental  pieces,  photographs,  etc.  Companies 
and  private  persons,  besides  artists  and  industrial  workers, 
can  exhibit  their  work  in  a  hall  reserved  for  that  purpose. 
Admission  to  the  Museum  is  free  four  days  in  the  week. 
Tuesdays  and  Wednesdays  a  small  fee  is  charged,  and  even 
then  artists  are  admitted  free.  The  library  is  open  week- 
days from  nine  to  two,  and  Sundays  from  nine  to  one. 
During  the  winter  months  it  is  also  open  Tuesday  and 
Wednesday  evenings.  On  Mondays  one-half  of  the  collection 
is  closed  for  cleaning.  Articles  exhibited  are  copied  for  the 
drawing  department  by  photographs,  photo-lithographs,  gal- 
vanaplastic  impressions  or  gypsum.  Protographic  reproduc- 
tions and  the  gypsum  processes  are  wrought  out  in  the 
atelier  of  the  Museum.     Copies  of  these  can  be  obtained 

15 


114  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

from  the  authorities  at  cost  price,  for  the  use  of  similar  insti- 
tutions or  technical  schools. 

For  the  elevation  of  the  public  taste,  the  Museum  publishes 
a  literary-artistic  paper.  This  contains  drawings  of  Art- 
models,  articles  on  the  theory  and  history  of  Art,  reform, 
taste,  etc.,  critical  reviews  of  articles  exhibited,  and  writings 
on  the  technology  of  Art.  "The  Monthly  Mittheilungen " 
is  devoted  to  special  reviews  of  Art  news,  inventions,  works 
on  exhibition  in  the  Museum,  and  answers  to  correspondents. 
The  Museum  has  correspondents  in  all  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe.  During  the  winter  free  public  lectures  are  held 
on  Thursdays,  with  subjects  taken  from  Art  and  applied  to 
natural  philosophy,  industry,  etc.  Beside  these  lectures 
there  are  courses  for  young  artists,  to  instruct  them  in 
special  branches,  as  drawing  perspective,  the  architectural 
orders,  photography  and  technical  Art. 

The  lectures  to  the  public  are  given  from  a  different  stand- 
point than  that  adopted  by  many  of  our  lecturers  on  Art  and 
its  technics.  In  Vienna  the  lecturer  aims  to  show  the  young 
aspirant  how  to  make  a  beginning,  and  how  to  progress 
upward  in  the  study  of  the  Fine  Arts ;  while  here,  lecturers 
who  attempt  to  discourse  upon  Art  and  Artists,  generally 
strive  to  show  how  impossible  it  is  for  any  one  to  reach  the 
height  attained  by  the  masters  of  old,  thus  chilling  the  awak- 
ening enthusiasm  of  their  hearers,  among  whom,  perhaps, 
may  be  some  who  would  have  liked  to  make  an  effort  to 
acquire  Art-skill  and  knowledge  for  themselves.  But  to 
return  to  the  Museum. 

For  the  benefit  of  the  country  at  large,  special  exhibitions 
are  given  in  towns  outside  of  Vienna,  on  the  plan  adopted 
by  South  Kensington.  Besides,  the  Museum  gives  advice 
to  artists  and  manufacturers,  and  even  furnishes  models. 
It  takes  an  interest  in  improving  Art  matters  in  technical 
schools,  and  is  looked  to  for  counsel  by  all  institutions  of 
learning. 

The  Museum  is  under  the  Ministry  of  Education.  Its 
Government  consists  of  Protector,  Curators — whose  term  of 
office  is  three  years — and  Director,  with  whom  lies  the 
entire    charge.     Under   the   Director    are   four   Custodians, 


EEPOET   OF   MR.   HINTON. 


115 


two   of  whom  are  in  the  Art-galleries,  one  in  the  library, 
and  one  employed  as  Secretary. 

The  following  Table  shows  the  number  of  persons  recorded 
as  having  visited  the  Museum  since  it  was  opened  : — 


1864, 

56,891  persons.* 

1865, 

118,438 

1866, 

101,733 

1867, 

118,802 

1868, 

102,460 

1869, 

97,680 

1870, 

87,892 

1871, 

•     •     •{ 

52,927 
42,746 

"t 
a  + 

+ 

1872, 

Total,  . 

- 

129,441 

909,010  per 

sons. 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  Museum  in  1864,  the  Board 
of  Trade  and  Industries,  of  Lower  Austria,  asked  of  the 
State's  Ministry  that  an  industrial  school  be  started  in  con- 
nection with  it.  This  request  was  warmly  supported  by  the 
country.  On  the  18th  of  February,  1865,  the  Council  of 
Education  ordained  that  a  higher  school  of  Art-Industry 
should  be  established  in  connection  with  the  Museum.  A 
committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  code.  Little  was 
done  the  first  year,  besides  familiarizing  the  pupils  with  the 
regulations.  The  artistic  education  of  scholars  was  so 
limited,  that  about  half  the  entire  number  admitted,  or  24 
out  of  50,  were  obliged  to  enter  the  Preparatory  Department. 

One  great  trouble  was  the  lack  of  funds  on  the  part  of 
pupils.  In  1869,  a  number  of  friends  of  the  institution 
formed  a  "  Society  for  the  Advancement  of  the  Art-School," 
whose  object  is  to  aid  needy  students,  by  distribution  of 
school  money,  travelling  expenses,  etc.,  without  distinction' 
in  regard  to  nationality,  religion,  or  anything  else.  The 
Emperor  is  Chief  of  this  Society.  During  the  first  four 
years  of  its  existence,  about  one  thousand  dollar^  were 
gathered  for  a  fund,  and  over  six  thousand  for  yearly  ex- 
penses.    In  1869,  the  Trade  Ministry  set  apart  six  thousand 


*  First  six  months. 


t  Temporary  building. 


X  New  building. 


116  EXPOSITION    AT   VIENNA. 

florins  as  two  years'  pay  for  ten  students,  and  renewed  the 
same  in  1871.  To  this  were  added  twenty  thousand  florins 
given  by  Baron  Louis  von  Haber-Linsberg,  for  students  of 
Lower  Austria.  Prince  Schwarzenberg  gave  a  capital  of  one 
thousand  florins  ($500)  to  be  used  for  the  support  of  a  pupil 
born  on  his  domain.  These  are  not  all  the  donations  the 
school  has  received,  but  they  are  the  principal  sums  given  to 
help  the  students.  Many  manufacturers  and  friends  sub- 
scribed smaller  sums. 

Apropos  of  donations,  a  compliment  was  paid  to  America 
by  one  of  Vienna's  able  professors  :  "  Ah,  we  want  a  few 
men  such  as  you  have  so  many  of,  who  would  donate  us  a 
sum  that  would  place  us  at  once  in  a  position  to  achieve  the 
much  larger  amount  of  good  results  we  could  attain,  had 
we  some  such  generous  friend.  The  sums  given  by  Peter 
Cooper,  Ezra  Cornell,  Mr.  Peabody,  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt,  and  a  host  of  other  gentlemen,  to  help  on  the  cause  of 
education,  amaze  us,  not  to  mention  the  enormous  grants  of 
land  made  by  your  Congress  for  the  same  purpose." 

One  can  hardly  doubt,  after  observing  what  they  have 
done,  with  what,  in  this  country,  would  be  considered  very 
limited  means,  that  had  they  but  half  the  money  so  freely 
poured  out  for  the  cause  of  education  here,  they  would  achieve 
astonishing  results,  working  as  they  do,  upon  strictly  econom- 
ical and  practical  systems,  wasting  nothing,  and  utilizing 
every  force  and  help  that  converge  to  form  the  real,  able, 
skilful  and  tasteful  worker,  whether  he  be  an  architect  or 
mason,  professor  of  languages  or  teacher  in  an  infant  school ; 
whether  he  be  the  inventor  of  a  steam-engine  or  the  man  to 
run  it ;  whether  he  be  the  designer  of  the  patterns  for  rich 
carpets  or  the  man  to  weave  them  ;  whether  he  be  the  skilled 
forester  or  the  woodman  who  fells  the  tree ;  and  so  on, 
through  every  profession  and  every  handicraft. 

Perhaps,  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  had  the  grand  resources 
of  this  country  to  draw  upon,  iastead  of  having  to  be  keenly 
alive  to  the  value  of  every  cent  they  can  earn,  they  would  be 
moulded  into  free,  pushing,  go-ahead  people,  lavishly  careless 
of  that  of  which  they  now  show  themselves  to  be  so  minutely 
careful, — the  intellect  of  the  nation. 

It  is  most  certain  that  they  have  a  very  practical  method 


REPORT    OF   MR.   HINTON.  117 

of  training  all  within  the  confines  of  the  state.  No  matter 
how  successful  or  unsuccessful  their  efibrts  toward  that  end 
may  be,  the  method  is  sound. 

As,  for  instance  :  at  the  Art-School,  where  the  term  begins 
in  October  and  ends  in  July,  pupils  who  attend  the  lectures 
contend  for  a  prize  at  the  end  of  each  year.  Female  students 
have  the  same  rights  as  the  males.  The  admission  fee  to  the 
Art-School  is  one  dollar ;  tuition  fees  for  the  preparatory 
school,  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  ;  for  the  higher  school,  four 
dollars  and  fifty  cents,  half-yearly. 

There  are  ten  professors,  who  have  brought  to  them  all  the 
work  they  can  perform.  This  is  a  point  worth  noting.  The 
method  of  teaching  involves  practical  work.  It  is  no  mere 
copying,  but  the  real  thing  itself,  at  which  the  students  can 
work  with  the  professors.  It  would  also  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  school  is  a  success,  that  their  labor  is  in  such  demand 
as  it  is,  by  the  manufacturers  of  Vienna. 

The  School  and  Museum  aim  to  improve  and  elevate  public 
taste.  Although  the  most  recent  they  are  not  the  only  insti- 
tutions founded  in  Vienna  for  a  somewhat  similar  purpose, 
and  therefore  care  must  be  taken  not  to  ascribe  to  the  Museum 
alone  results  only  partly  brought  about  by  its  agencies. 

Technical,  scientific  education  it  does  not  attempt  to  touch  ; 
yet  the  imparting  of  this  involves  oftentimes  the  teaching  of  a 
right  taste  and  feeling  for  the  beautiful. 

There  is  no  need  for  the  Art  and  Industry  Museum  to  stir 
in  this  matter,  as  very  ample  provision  has  been  made  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  whole  country  in  this  respect.  Technical 
instruction  is  of  very  long  standing  in  Austria.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  three  important  schools 
were  in  operation,  and  others  were  instituted,  long  before 
the  neighboring  German  States  had  moved  in  this  direction. 

The  Polytechnic  Institution  in  Vienna,  as  organized  in 
1815,  was  the  culmination  of  efforts  begun  in  1765,  to  shape 
the  instruction  of  schools  to  meet  the  special  wants  of  pupils 
in  their  future  mechanical  or  commercial  occupations.  It  is 
one  of  the  best  equipped  schools  of  its  class  in  Europe.  If  it 
were  combined  with  the  Art  Museum  and  School,  it  would 
stand  next  to  the  Science  and  Art  Department  at  South  Ken- 
sington, at  present  the  largest  centralized  institution  of  its 


1:18  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

kind  in  existence,  with  the  tendency  to  still  further  extend 
its  power.  There  has  been  some  talk  lately  in  England  of 
placing  the  British  Museum  under  the  same  direction.  This 
proposition  is  not  very  favorably  received  by  the  English 
people,  who  are  not  all  satisfied  as  to  the  ability  of  the 
managers  of  South  Kensington  to  get  all  the  good  from  what 
they  at  present  control. 

At  the  Vienna  Polytechnic  Institute,  there  is  a  technological 
museum,  the  contents  of  which  comprise  more  than  200,000 
specimens  of  models,  machines,  etc.,  beautifully  arranged. 
The  whole  Institute  numbers  about  sixty  professors,  librarians 
and  superintendents  of  the  museum  and  astronomical  observa- 
tory. It  has  an  average  attendance  of  five  hundred  pupils, 
distributed  into  four  special  schools  or  divisions,  besides  a 
mathematical  course.  These  are  :  1.  £Iivil  engineering.  2. 
Architecture  and  construction.  3.  Machinery  and  manufac- 
tures. 4.  Chemical  technology,  including  students  in  the 
evening  classes  and  preparatory  division.  The  attendance 
exceeds  two  thousand  every  year. 

It  is  difficult  to  draw  a  distinct  line,  and  declare,  Here 
■Science  ends  and  Art  begins..  This  will  be  acknowledged  by 
any  one  who  visits  the  Polytechnic  at  Vienna,  or  any  of  its 
fellows. 

Take  the  study  of  architecture  as  an  example.  It  is  cer- 
tainly necessary  that  the  architect  should  have  exact  mathe- 
matical knowledge,  that  he  may  calculate  the  power  of  tension, 
capacity  of  bearing  weight,  etc.,  of  the  difierent  materials  he 
uses  ;  but  he  must  also  be  educated  in  art  taste  or  his  designs 
will  be  sorry,  tame  affairs.  Indeed,  there  is  no  man  in  our 
midst  who  needs  to  be  so  thoroughly  an  artist  as  he  who 
would  aspire  to  be  a  real  architect,  and  none  who  has  more 
influence  upon  the  life  of  the  people  whom  he  serves.  A  house, 
if  it  is  ugly,  still  represents  so  much  labor  and  capital,  and 
cannot  be  pulled  down  simply  on  the  score  of  its  ugliness ; 
but  a  beautiful  building,  harmonious  in  each  part,  represents 
more  than  its  mere  cost :  it  becomes  a  silent  educator,  and 
remains  a  charm  to  all  who  see  it.  It  is,  therefore,  but  right 
to  look  for  Fine  Art  instruction  in  any  institution  that  pro- 
fesses to  teach  architecture.  This  is  found  at  Vienna,  where 
the  pupils  are  instructed,  as  were  the  Greeks  of  old,  by  draw- 


REPORT   OF  MR.   HINTON.  119 

ing  and  studying  the  best  buildings  in  their  neighborhood,  the 
professors — men  whose  names  alone  carry  commendation— »- 
pointing  out  and  explaining  every  grand,  broad,  general 
effect,  as  well  as  the  minutest  detail  that  can  be  shown. 

To  the  Viennese,  architecture  is  a  very  important  profes- 
sion, as  it  has  depended  and  still  depends  upon  the  able  men 
in  this  department  whether  they  shall  have  a  beautiful  city  or 
the  reverse.  So  far,  it  is  in  the  first  state,  if  the  opinions  of 
the  many  visitors  drawn  thither  by  the  Exhibition  can  be 
taken  as  sufficient  evidence. 

Thus,  then,  though  separate  institutions,  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  Museum  of  Art  as  applied  to  Industry  and  the  Polytechnic 
Institute  have  much  in  common,  and  fitly  dovetail  into  each 
other.  The  Museum  of  Arts  reaches  out  after  other  objects 
than  its  neighbor,  while  it  does  much  to  fill  in  the  necessary 
details,  of  great  value  to  the  students  of  the  Polytechnic 
Institute,  and  vice  versa. 

Take,  as  an  illustration,  the  manufacture  of  Terra-Cotta — a 
business  that  has  grown  prodigiously  in  Austria,  Germany 
and  England  of  late  years.  The  determining  of  the  right 
clays,  to  form  a  fit  combination  ;  the  formation  of  kilns  to 
harden  these  clays ;  the  calculations  as  to  the  shrinkage  of 
the  clay  while  passing  through  the  firing  process,  with  other 
details,  rightly  belong  to  the  Poly  technical  Institution ;  but 
the  artistic  modelling  of  tasteful  ware  and  statues  in  Terra- 
Cotta  comes  fairly  within  the  province  of  the  Museum  and 
the  School  attached.  That  this  aid  has  not  been  slight,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  extremely  beneficial,  is  the  testimony  of  the 
manager  of  the  largest  clay-working  establishment  in  Austria, 
and  the  second  largest  in  the  world,  verified  by  personal 
observation. 

It  would  be  a  vain  task  to  attempt  to  describe  the  high  per- 
fection to  which  this  art  has  been  brought  by  the  Viennese. 
Remembering  this,  it  is  a  source  of  regret  that  our  own 
country  is  so  backward  in  this  manufacture,  when  all  the 
needed  materials  exist  in  abundance.  Nature  has  here  been 
bountiful  in  this  as  in  nearly  all  her  raw  materials.  It  is  an 
industry  that  could  be  promoted  in  this  country  with  a  fair 
prospect  of  remunerative  returns  ;  first,  to  the  manufacturer, 
and  more  remotely,  in  improving  the  public  taste  by  supplying 


120  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

cheap  and  enduring  statues,  vases,  fountains,  etc.,  modelled 
to  correct  and  artistic  forms. 

It  is  also  available  for  architecture,  being  the  natural  se- 
quence of  brick  making — the  attempt  of  artistic  power  to 
progress  from  machine-pressed,  square,  clay  bricks  to  hand- 
modelled  clay,  fine  art  objects  for  the  million.  Once  modelled, 
these  can  be  reproduced  by  pressing  in  moulds,  ad  infinitum 
— alike,  yet  unlike,  as  the  artist  can  touch  up  each  pressed 
form  while  the  clay  is  yet  pliable,  ere  it  is  put  into  the  kilns. 
Then,  too,  it  is  made  in  different  colors.  The  Italian  Terra- 
Cotta  is  famous  for  its  deep  rich  red  color.  The  German  and 
Austrian  manufacturers  endeavor  to  make  theirs  resemble 
stone,  so  that  it  may  be  used  for  ornamental  work  in  com- 
bination with  that  material,  thus  effecting  a  considerable 
saving  in  outlay,  and  securing  effective  ornamentation  for 
the  facades  of  their  buildings.  In  England  all  colors  are 
used,  although  the  principal  architects,  who  favor  it  as  a 
building  material,  desire  that  the  English  work  should  show 
the  natural  marks  of  the  firing,  so  stamping  it  as  no  imitation 
of  another  material,  but  as  a  legitimate  and  old-time  medium 
for  forming  buildings  and  articles  of  utility  and  art. 

Several  buildings  lately  erected  in  London  are  particularly 
striking.  The  combination  of  terra-cotta  with  pressed  brick- 
work is  charming  in  the  highest  degree.  It  is  safe  to  request 
— in  these  latter  days  when  almost  every  one  travels — that  if 
any  of  the  readers  of  this  Eeport,  in  the  future,  find  them- 
selves in  London,  they  should  seek  the  merchants'  offices, 
built  directly  opposite  the  Ludgate  Hill  Railroad  depot ;  and 
if  the  London  soot  and  smoke  have  not  blackened  the  build- 
ing, there  is  no  fear  but  that  this  suggestion  will  be  pardoned 
on  account  of  the  pleasure  experienced.  While  in  this 
locality,  round  by  the  home  of  the  "  Thunderer,"  near  Print- 
ing-house Square,  is  a  neat  store,  the  elaborate  front  and 
interior  of  which  will  bear  inspection  and  pay  for  the  time 
bestowed  upon  them.  The  inside  walls  are  lined  with  Min- 
ton's  encaustic  tiles,  evidently  designed  and  made  for  this 
building.  The  pictures  on  the  tiles  are  beautiful  paintings  of 
pastoral  scenes.  This  tile  work  is  another  artistic  produc- 
tion which  should  be  carried  on  in  this  country,  but  which 
is  entirely  neglected,  on  the  reasoning  that  we  can  buy  all 


EEPOET   OF  MR.   HINTON.  121 

we  want  from  England,  while  we  devote  ourselves  to  rougher 
and  better-paying  labor. 

In  Europe  they  have  the  advantage  over  us,  in  the  long 
artistic  training  that  has  been  afforded  the  people ;  but  we 
can  avail  ourselves  of  their  previous  experience,  and  progress 
more  rapidly  from  the  knowledge  so  gained,  as  is  evident 
from  the  work  already  accomplished  in  Massachusetts.  But, 
as  has  been  indicated  in  the  instances  cited  above,  without 
exhausting  the  list,  there  are  so  many  kinds  of  artistic  work 
of  which  we  know  nothing,  except  as  we  purchase  specimens 
ready-made  from  foreign  markets,  that  much  hard  and  con- 
tinuous labor  is  entailed  upon  us,  if  we  desire  to  be  an 
artistic  as  well  as  an  industrial  people. 

It  is  worth  while  to  note  the  fact  that  terra-cotta,  like 
brick-work,  is  a  fire-proof  material,  hence  deserving  of 
notice  in  America  where  the  fire-king  has  wrought  such 
terrible  havoc.  Specimens  of  terra-cotta  that  have  passed 
through  a  fierce  and  destructive  fire  are  shown  at  Vienna,  to 
prove  its  power  of  resisting  heat.  The  focts,  as  related,  cer- 
tainly demonstrate  that  it  will  stand  fire  without  being  very 
seriously  damaged,  if  it  is  not  injured  by  the  falling  masses 
that  generally  cave  in,  at  any  really  calamitous  conflagration. 
That  it  will  endure  for  ages  is  proven  by  the  specimens  of 
ancient  workmanship  exhibited  in  almost  every  European 
museum.  There  are  articles  made  of  terra-cotta  in  the 
British  Museum,  at  least  three  thousand  years  old.  The 
mark  of  the  artificers'  tools  show  as  plainly  as  when  first 
burnt  in. 

While  writing  of  terra-cotta  specimens  in  the  museums  of 
Europe,  it  may  be  said  that  they  contain  specimens  of  every- 
thing, many  articles  and  subjects  exhibited  being  to-day 
priceless,  on  account  of  their  antiquity,  rarity,  and  intrinsic 
value  as  exemplars  of  ancient  art  and  industry..  Vienna  is 
abundantly  supplied  with  these  collections.  The  imperial 
palace*  is  a  rich  treasury  of  works  of  art  and  collections  of 
scientific  objects  easily  accessible  to  the  public.  The  Swiss 
Court  has  the  private  library  of  the  Emperor ;  also  some  sixty 

*  The  principal  royal  palaces  of  Europe  are  becoming  more  and  more  every  year 
show-places  or  art-galleries  for  the  occasional  use  of  the  crowned  monarchs,  who 
nominally  own  them,  and  for  the  general  use  of  the  public,  who  really  own  them. 
16 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

thousand  maps.  The  jewel  office  is  open  three  days  in  the 
week,  during  the  summer  months,  to  the  public.  There  is 
also  a  collection  in  this  court  known  as  the  Physico-Astro- 
nomical  Cabinet.  This  is  likewise  open  to  the  public,  but 
visitors  must  make  application  to  the  custodian.  The  Royal 
Library  is  situated  near  the  Winter  Riding  School  and  con- 
tains over  three  hundred  thousand  volumes,  twelve  thousand 
parchments,  twenty  thousand  manuscripts,  and  upwards  of 
eight  hundred  volumes  of  wood  and  copper  engraving,  etc. 
In  the  palace,  there  is  also  a  Cabinet  of  Zoology  and  Natural 
History — one  of  the  richest  collections  to  be  found  anywhere. 
The  public  are  admitted  one  day  in  the  week.  A  Mineralog- 
ical  Cabinet  is  attached,  beside  the  Numismatical  Cabinet  and 
collections  of  antiquities.  Its  collection  of  specimens  of  cut- 
gems  stands  unrivalled,  and  the  bronzes,  vases,  gold  and 
silver-work  accumulated  represent  an  enormous  value. 

The  Belvidere  Gallery  is  one  of  the  world-renowned  art- 
buildings.  Any  good  guide-book  will  tell  of  the  works  of 
the  old  masters  collected  within  its  walls,  a  single  oue  of 
which  would  be  considered  a  grand  acquisition  to  any  of  our 
modern  formed  galleries ;  but  they  cannot  be  bought ;  they 
are  not  for  sale.  At  the  Belvidere,  there  is  a  collection  of 
antique  works  of  art,  which  forms  the  complement  of  the 
Cabinet  of  Coins  and  Antiquities  in  the  Palace  (Hoffburg)  ; 
and,  lastly,  there  is  a  Museum  of  Egyptian  Antiquities. 

The  Royal  Armory  is  in  the  building  called  Stallburg. 
This  collection  includes  a  fine  assortment  of  all  kinds  of 
weapons,  and  other  appurtenances  of  war,  which  may  be 
seen  daily,  free. 

There  is  also  a  Museum  of  the  Academy  of  Art,  containing 
a  number  of  valuable  engravings,  ancient  paintings,  marbles, 
and  a  great  assortment  of  plaster  of  Paris  casts,  of  consider- 
able merit.     This  is  open,  free,  once  a  week. 

There  are  Medical,  Botanical,  Polytechnic,  University, 
and  many  private  galleries,  to  which  the  public  can  gain 
admittance. 

Prince  Liechtenstien's  Picture-gallery  contains  some 
twenty-four  thousand  free-hand  drawings, — many  by  Albert 
Diirer,  and  two  hundred  thousand  engravings  on  copper. 
This  is  open  twice  a  week. 


EEPORT   OF  MR.    HINTON.  123 

In  front  of  the  Imperial  Palace,  the  Museums  of  Science 
and  Art  are  in  course  of  erection,  and  will  be  immense  struct- 
ures, if  the  foundations  are  any  guide  to  an  idea  of  their 
proposed  size.  The  fact  that  these  buildings  have  been  com- 
menced indicates  that  the  judgment  of  the  leading  men  and 
of  the  Parliament  of  the  Austrian  Empire  is  still  favorably- 
inclined  toward  this  method  of  fostering  and  cultivating  pub- 
lic taste.  They  ought  to  be  able  to  judge  well  of  its  effect, 
having  had  so  long  an  experience  with  the  galleries  already 
in  operation. 

The  following  is  a  concise  summary,  from  the  official 
catalogue,  of  the  facilities  for  technical  education  provided 
by  the  Austrian  Government  for  its  people.  It  does  not 
include  the  Art  and  Industrial  Museum  or  School,  or  the  gal- 
leries and  collections  above  enumerated. 

"  Ii*  Austria  proper  there  are  45  Superior  Schools  and  Academies 
for  scieDtific  instruction  in  agriculture,  horticulture,  forestry,  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine  and  the  silk-worm,  and  veterinary  surgery, 
also  of  mining,  navigation  and  commerce ;  with  seven  Polytechnic 
Schools,  in  all  having  6,000  pupils  and  426  professors  and  teachers. 
These  schools  are  in  part  sustained  by  the  Imperial  Government, 
and  are  under  the  general  direction  of  the  minister  charged  with 
educational  matters. 

"Hungary  has  13  similar  schools,  with  116  teachers  and  1,311 
pupils. 

Bohemia  has  an  extended  system  of  industrial  instruction,  more 
diffuse  than  in  other  parts  of  the  empire. 

"  What  are  termed  '  burgher  schools,'  answering  to  our  secondary 
or  grammar  schools,  have  special  courses,  designed  for  mechanical 
and  commercial  training. 

"  Besides,  there  are,  throughout  the  Austrian  provinces,  many 
workman  and  apprentice  schools,  usually  teaching  some  special 
trade.  In  Vienna  and  Prague  there  are  a  number  of  these.  In 
the  latter  city,  there  is  one  whose  course  includes  the  technical 
sciences,  practical  weaving,  linear  and  free-hand,  machine  and  con- 
structive drawing,  lectures  on  machinery,  practical  chemistry  and 
modelling.  These  are  classes  for  machinists,  building  trades, 
weavers,  dyers,  industrial  artisans — as  goldsmiths,  jewellers,  por- 
celain makers,  etc." 


124  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Austria  presents  a  splendid 
arrangement  of  practical  and  artistic  educational  agencies, 
and  it  is  already  evidenced  that  in  the  future  they  will  in- 
crease rather  than  decrease.  The  principal  trouble  there  is 
the  extreme  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  sufficient  number  of  com- 
petent teachers.  This  will  be  remedied  in  the  future,  now 
that  it  is  so  generally  recognized  that  the  teacher's  post  is  a 
most  honorable  one. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  it  is  educated  labor  that  prevented 
Vienna  from  sinking  into  a  torpid  state  after  the  terrible  blow 
Austria  received  at  the  hands  of  Prussia  in  1866,  so  soon 
after  her  defeat  in  Italy,  by  the  combined  Italian  and  French 
forces.  Her  rulers  were  compelled  to  see,  through  the  sober 
light  of  misfortune,  that  their  true  interest  consisted  in  foster- 
ing industrial  progress,  and  developing  the  resources  of  the 
empire.  This  had  been  done  to  a  very  considerable  extent  pre- 
vious to  the  events  referred  to  above ;  and  because  suqJi  was 
the  case,  the  city  of  Vienna  could  not  lose  her  prestige ;  but 
by  continuing  to  work  in  the  same  path  of  educating  labor 
and  fostering  taste,  she  has  attained  a  greater  degree  of  pros- 
perity than  she  ever  before  possessed — fortunate  in  having 
men  at  the  head  of  affiiirs  who  see  the  importance  of  encourag- 
ing industrial  enterprise  and  progress  in  the  widest  and 
broadest  sense ;  fortunate  in  having  a  splendid  system  of 
instruction  by  which  the  citizen  is  helped  in  his  life's  work ; 
and  in  having  men  who  were  already  first  in  the  trades  and 
business  for  which  Vienna  is,  and  is  becoming,  famous. 

A  slight  glance  at  the  work  done  in  the  Austrian  capital 
and  its  natural  advantages  will  show  the  correctness  of  the 
assumption  that  the  strength  of  this  empire  lies,  not  in  her 
drilled  legions  of  soldiers,  but  in  the  armies  of  busy,  skilful, 
hardy,  trained  workers.  The  industrial  progress  so  apparent 
in  Austria  may  really  be  said  to  have  commenced  in  1860, 
when  tke  old  walls  that  encircled  the  city  were  thrown  down, 
and  new  boulevards  built  on  their  site ;  and  confirmed  when 
her  rulers,  in  1866,  were  taught  that  a  stronger  military  power 
existed  than  their  own. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  with  all  her  educational  facili- 
ties, Vienna  could  not  have  attained  her  present  degree  of 
importance  in  the  world  if  there  were  not  unusual  natural 


REPORT   OF  MR.    HINTON.  125 

advantages  to  help  to  form  a  great  city.  The  position  of 
Vienna  is  unique,  and  had  not  the  evil  influence  of  a  repres- 
sive governmental  system  checked  private  home  or  foreign 
enterprise,  preventing  everything  like  thorough  development, 
Vienna  must  have  been,  at  the  present  hour,  second  in  im- 
portance to  no  continental  city.  It  stands  upon  the  confines 
of  civilization  and  semi-barbarism,  on  the  bank  of  a  stream 
which  receivers  into  its  waters  no  less  than  thirty-four  naviga- 
ble rivers,  and  which,  connected  as  it  is  with  the  Rhine  and 
the  Maine  by  the  Ludwig's  Canal,  directly  unites  the  German 
Gcean  with  the  Black  Sea.  Of  all  European  capitals  it  is 
nearest  to  those  points  where  the  Elbe,  Weichsel,  Oder  and 
Dniester  rivers  become  navigable ;  the  nearest  to  the  Adriatic 
(Trieste),  the  Grecian  Archipelago  (Pirseus),  the  ^gean  Sea 
(Solonica),  and  the 'Black  Sea  (Constantinople,  Varna,  Kur- 
tange  and  Odessa) .  From  Moscow  or  Petersburg  to  Italy ; 
from  Moscow  to  Spain,  France  and  England;  from  Loudon, 
Edinburgh  and  Dublin  to  Constantinople ;  from  Paris  to 
Odessa ;  from  North  Germany  to  Stamboul  or  Athens, — the 
road  to  be  taken  must  run  through  Vienna ;  and  that  road 
must  be  the  Austro-Hungarian  Railroad,  long  in  contempla- 
tion, and  which  will  be  built,  if  the  Austrian  executives 
pursue  with  vigor  the  path  upon  which  they  seem  to  have 
set  out.  Vienna  is  the  greatest  and  most  advanced  outpost 
of  manufacturing  industry  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube  ;  it  is 
the  natural  depot  of  the  raw  produce  furnished  by  the  vast 
tract  of  country  known  as  the  Lands  of  the  Danube,  from 
which  it  may  be  distributed  to  its  proper  destination  for  con- 
sumption ;  the  central  mart  for  the  corn,  woollen,  hide  and 
leather  trades,  for  wine  and  other  agricultural  produce  of 
these  territories  by  the  Danube,  is  in  Vienna.  The  numerous 
railroads  radiating  from  the  city  are  obvious  proofs  of  the 
magnitude  of  the  existing  and  expected  commercial  traffic. 

The  above  is  but  a  brief  summary  of  the  city's  natural  and 
acquired  advantages. 

The  real  struggle  between  the  great  powers  of  Europe 
to-day,  lies  in  the  endeavor  to  gain  control  of  rivers  and 
territories  where  commerce  and  industry  can  find  the  best 
paying  return  for  their  work. 


126  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Special  products  and  industries  are  necessary  conditions, 
appertaining  to  the  commercial  importance  of  a  city.  Even 
seaports,  in  which  traffic  and  the  forwarding  trade  predomi- 
nate, require  the  support  of  productive  territories,  which,  in 
at  least  one  or  more  branches  of  industry,  give  it  a  particular 
excellence  in  the  department  especially  cultivated  by  it.  The 
Viennese  cultivate  so  many  that  it  is  hard  to  select  the  few 
principal  ones. 

All  the  various  trades  are  reached,  in  a  greater  or  lesser 
degree,  by  the  Museum  of  Arts  as  applied  to  Industry  and 
the  numerous  Fine  Art  Museums  and  Industrial  Schools 
existing  in  the  city. 

The  workmen  take  the  raw  material  brought  to  them,  and, 
as  an  English  artisan  once  said  of  the  Parisian  ouv7'iers,  in 
comparing  them  with  his  own  countryman,  they  put  a  hun- 
dred dollars'  worth  of  work  into  it  where  we  put  one,  before 
they  permit  it  to  pass  from  their  hands. 

Every  one  knows  or  has  heard  that  Vienna  is  famous  for 
its  meerschaum  trade.  The  raw  material  is  brought  thither, 
where  the  taste  and  skill  to  manipulate  it  is  to  be  found. 
The  cutting  and  carving  of  this  "  foam  of  the  sea "  is  here 
raised  to  a  fine  art,  and  the  workmen  produce  the  most  mar- 
vellous results.  The  fine,  soft  nature  of  the  material  gives 
the  carvers- opportunity  to  produce  elegant  and  tasteful  efiects, 
and  this  the  artisans  in  meerschaum  ware  at  Vienna  fully 
improve ;  hence  they  supply  all  the  known  world,  where 
smokers  exist,  with  their  goods,  and  everywhere,  because 
they  are  Viennese,  they  command  a  higher  price. 

The  bronze  trade  is  another  business  carried  on  there,  and 
bears  quite  a  Viennese  character — ^just  as  the  French  bronze 
work  is  Parisian.  Austria  used  to  purchase  the  bronze  goods 
she  needed  from  the  French  houses,  until  this  trade  was 
developed  in  Vienna,  where,  in  the  first  place,  bronze-work 
is  applied  to  useful  ornaments,  such  as  lustres,  candlesticks, 
chimney  ornaments,  etc. 

The  strict  observance  of  the  truest  rules  of  Art  is  particu- 
larly remarkable,  and  is  chiefly  due  to  the  Museum  of  Art 
and  Industry,  where  considerable  pains  is  taken  to  collect 
and  exhibit  the  best,  most  chaste  and  most  useful  models 
applicable  to  this  special  trade. 


EEPORT  OF  MR.    HINTON.  127 

The  leading  architects  of  Vienna — most  of  whom  are  con- 
nected with  the  Art  and  Industry  Museum — furnish  many 
of  the  manufacturers  engaged  in  the  bronze  trade  with  designs, 
so  that  the  articles  made  after  them  harmonize  with  the  build- 
ings into  which  they  are  to  be  fitted.  This  course  enables 
the  Viennese  to  compete  wdth  the  best  French  houses,  as 
was  shown  at  the  Exposition.  It  was  there  evident  to  all 
who  attempted  the  comparison  that  Austria  had  made  rapid 
strides  toward  reaching  the  artistic  plane  long  ago  attained 
by  the  French,  and  beyond  which  the  latter  do  not  seem  to 
advance. 

The  many  little  nick-nacks  made  of  bronze,  and  known  as 
"  Articles  of  Vienna,"  have  very  often  combined  in  them  fine 
woods,  leather,  paper,  mother  of  pearl  and  papier  mache. 

This  development  of  the  bronze  and  leather  trade  has  not 
taken  place  without  exerting  an  influence  upon  the  higher 
branches  of  artistic  book-binding,  which  has  likewise  been 
peculiarly  improved. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  development  of  one  artistic  idea, 
applied  to  industry,  is  sure  to  beget  others  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, if  the  ground  be  but  favorable  for  their  growth.  The 
manufacture  of  portrait  albums,  ornamental  covers  for  diplo- 
mas, books,  etc.,  calls  for,  besides  the  leather  material,  gild- 
ing, bronze,  jewels,  enamels  and  ivory.  Workers  in  all  these 
diS'erent  materials  are  found  in  Vienna,  as  competent,  if  not 
more  so,  than  those  elsewhere,  working  cheerfully ,"  day 
in,  day  out,"  for  wages  which  would  here  be  deemed  miser- 
ably small.  Indeed,  it  does  seem  strange  that  they  should 
continue  there,  when  this  country  would  be  glad  of  their 
help,  and  willing  to  pay  treble  what  they  now  get  for  their 
labor. 

England  has,  in  the  past,  given  us  a  useful  hint  on  this 
point.  When  she  could  secure  a  good  workman,  with  special 
artistic  skill,  from  the  Continental  countries  of  Europe,  by 
paying  extra  for  his  services,  she  did  so  ;  the  result  produced 
was  counted  and  sold  as  English  work,  and  this  practice  in- 
sensibly educated  the  native  artificer  and  designer  by  the  new 
blood  infused  into  the  veins  of  their  industry. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  the  Jewellers'  Art  would  be  fos- 
tered in  Vienna,   as  it  is  in   every  Catholic   country  in   a 


128  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

greater  or  less  degree.  Such  is  the  case.  The  aristocracy 
of  this  part  of  Europe  have  for  ages  been  noted  for  their 
love  for  fine  jewellery ;  hence  here  are  found  wonderfully 
cunning  workmen  in  gold,  silver  and  precious  stones. 
Influenced  on  one  side  by  the  ruling  church,  with  its  highly 
developed  Italian  goldsmiths'  art,  and  on  the  other  side  by 
the  nearer  Orientals  and  Hungarians — who  have  to  this  day 
the  most  gorgeously  dressed  nobles  and  gentry  in  the  world 
when  they  don  the  national  costume — public  taste  chiefly 
governed  by  the  rich,  who  dazzle  with  their  profuse  mag- 
nificence, thus  has  the  Vienna  jewellery  attained  a  distinct- 
ively marked  character,  combining  the  richness  of  the  East 
with  the  taste  of  the  West.  The  Museum  and  School  of 
.Arts  strive  to  keep  this  distinction  prominent,  as  being  a 
trait  well  worth  the  perpetuation. 

Without  further  attempting  to  enumerate  the  thousand 
and  one  trades  carried  on  in  Vienna  and  the  surrounding 
country,  many  of  which  are  of  recent  date  but  now  firmly 
seated,  we  may  notice  that  the  great  number  of  new  build- 
ings erected  since  the  Ringstrasse  was  made,  has  called  into 
beino;  a  new  race  of  cabinet- workers.  All  the  trades  which 
find  their  occupation  in  furnishing  houses  have  had  an  impe- 
tus given  them  by  the  efi'orts  of  the  distinguished  architects 
who  have  designed  so  much  of  New  Vienna,  to  improve  the 
interior  decorations  and  furnishings  of  the  new  buildings. 
Cabinet-making,  carpet-weaving,  bronze-work,  modelling  and 
frescoing  for  walls  and  ceilings,  marble-working,  etc. — with 
all  these  trades  the  Museum  has  had  direct  contact,  and  has 
met  with  the  greatest  measure  of  success  that  has  rewarded 
any  of  the  efibrts  of  the  authorities  to  improve  and  elevate 
work  and  the  workers. 

The  influence  of  these  attempts  of  the  leading  minds  and 
teachers  of  Austria  to  elevate  the  taste  and  improve  the 
skill  of  all  her  workers,  professional  and  artisan,  bids  fair 
to  be  crowned  with  the  happiest  results.  By  enlarging  the 
scope  of  the  people's  mental  vision,  they  insensibly  polish 
their  manners  and  aspirations,  rendering  them  more  con- 
tent, cheerful  and  industrious.  By  giving  them  an  interest 
in  their  daily  work  other  than  that  which  comes  from  it  as 
being  the  means  of  earning  a  livelihood,  an  ambition  is  fos- 


REPORT   OF  MR.    HINTON.  129 

tered  to  excel  in  "what  each  produces.     It  is  of  vital  import- 
ance to  the  world  at  large  that  this  should  be  done. 

.  The  introduction  of  steam  machinery  into  industry  has, 
without  doubt,  added  greatly  to  the  power  and  comfort  of 
mankind;  but  in  its  onward  progress  it  has  left  behind,  or 
destroyed,  some  things  that  it  would  have  been  well  to 
retain;  and,  among  others,  the  artisan,  thoroughly  master 
of  his  craft  in  all  its  parts.  One-branch  hands  are  in  the 
majority  to-day — quick  at  a  single  thing  only,  as  making 
the  head  of  a  pin  or  the  handle  of  an  iron  shovel. 

It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  there  are  so  many  empty- 
headed  and  shallow-pated  men  in  each  community,  who  are 
so  conceited  as  to  think  they  have  nothing  to  learn.  This 
dwarfing  of  mental  powers  engenders  a  whole  train  of  evils. 
Open  the  closed  mines  of  the  workman's  brains,  and  he 
becomes  at  once  a  thinker  for  himself,  his  work  a  pleasure 
to  himself,  and  his  life  a  blessing  to  all  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact.  Thus,  if  Austria  should  apparently  lose  money 
in  her  immediate  efforts  to  elevate  the  taste  and  aspiration 
of  her  people,  ere  long  it  wdll  return  to  her  with  compound 
interest. 

The  Exposition  itself  will  have  a  great  effect  upon  the 
nation.  The  native  artificers,  manufacturers  and  designers, 
have  been  able  to  compare  the  work  of  all  the  world  with 
their  own.  In  making  this  comparison  they  will  have  learned 
many  lessons,  and  the  varied  literature  the  Exposition  has 
called  forth  carries  to  their  homes  the  ideas  of  men  trained 
to  observe  and  to  report  upon  their  observations.  They 
must  have  noticed  the  general  average  ability  of  nearly  all 
the  European  countries,  in  the  staple  manufactured  articles 
in  every  day  use,  such  as  calicoes,  boots,  woollen  cloth,  etc. 
This  is  owing  to  the  general  acceptaiice  of  the  same  kind  of 
machinery  to  perform  the  work.  No  sooner  is  a  labor-saving 
machine  invented  in  one  country  than  it  is  copied  entire,  or 
in  its  essential  parts,  and  used  in  every  country  where  it  is 
needed. 

America  and  England  have  supplied  the  rest  of  the  world 

with   more   practical   help   in   this  way  than   all   the  other 

nations   put   together;    yet   Avith   all   this    start,    the   other 

nations   are   creeping   up   to   these    in   industrial   progress. 

17 


130  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

The  Technical  and  Polytechnic  Schools  have  greatly  helped 
to  effect  this  result ;  while,  upon  the  other  hand,  Austria, 
Germany  and  England,  have,  by  diligent  attention,  greater 
or  less  in  degree,  paid  to  the  subject  of  Art-industry,  grad- 
ually neared  the  two  nations  so  long  famous  for  fine  work, 
industrial  and  artistic — France  and  Italy.     The  United  States 
is  not  in  the  race,  if  we  may  judge  her  by  what  was  exhibited 
in  the  American  section  of  the  Vienna  Exposition.     Not  that 
it  was  worthy  in  any  respect  of  the  position  we  occupy  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  though  we  secured  more  prizes  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  exhibitors  than  any  other  country. 
Those  prizes  were  all  aw^arded  upon  the  basis  of  industrial  merit. 
The  artistic  element  was  nil,  if  we  except  Prang's  chromos 
and  the  photographs  exhibited.     The  first  germs  of  a  change 
in   this   respect   were    shown   in    the    School    Group;   viz., 
samples  of  drawings  executed  by  the  pupils  of  our  common 
schools  and  by  students  of  the  evening  classes,  established 
in  several  of  our  large  cities.     It  was  but  a  grain  in  that 
vast  granary,  but  any  one  who  took  the  trouble  to  compare 
these   drawings  with   those    exhibited   as   the  work  of  the 
pupils  of  a  similar  grade  in  the  Austrian,  Swiss  or  German 
section,  found  that  their  merit  was  as  great  as  that  of  the 
others,  notwithstanding  the  much  shorter  period  this  kind  of 
instruction  has  been  imparted  to  the  young  scholars  here. 
This  is  a  small  but  very  encouraging  fact.     Those  countries 
that  have  not  paid  the  same  attention  to  Art-industrial  edu- 
cation as  have  the  principal  nations  of  Europe,  were  poor  in 
proportion  in  their  exhibition.     Spain  and  Portugal  are  illus- 
trations  of  decay  in   these   matters.     Eussia,   Sweden   and 
Denmark    illustrate    the   results    of  a   one-sided   education, 
i.    e.,    technical;    the    bulk   of  their    exhibit    consisting    of 
articles    of  utility,    industry  and   defence.     Austria,    as  we 
have  seen,   showed  an  even  balance.     Germany  is   not   so 
strong   in   her   Art   as   in   her   Industry,    but   is   still  very 
respectable,  and  evinces  a  strong  tendency  to  improve  in 
the  future  in  this  respect.     Much  that  she  has  done  is  of 
the  first  order ;  still,  the  professional  men  engaged  in  the 
endeavor  to  elevate  the  standard  of  taste  in  their  country's 
work  are  not  satisfied.     They  regard  their  own  progress  as 
too  slow,  and  continually  fret  under  the  influence  of  French 


REPORT    OF   MR.    HINTOX.  131 

inspiration.  Honest  Gernicans  are  not  wanting  to  tell  their 
countrymen  of  their  faults,  and  to  point  out  what  they  deem 
to  be  the  remedy  for  them.  One  of  these,  writing  in  a  pub- 
lication issued  for  the  special  purpose  of  improving  the  taste 
of  the  people,  says  : — 

"  The- German  States  have  still  a  great  work  before  them,  ere  they 
can  emancipate  themselves  from  the  influence  of  French  art.  They 
have  made  considerable  progress  since  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867, 
but  it  is  still  evident  that  ver}^  much  of  the  German  art-industry  is 
altogether  bound  b}'  French  taste.  No  matter  how  well  one  race 
may  think  they  are  copying  the  works  and  art  of  another,  in  so 
much  as  it  is  copj-ing,  the  result  will  be  void  of  originality,  expres- 
sion, and  freshness,  and  becomes  fainter  and  wealcer  at  each  repe- 
tition." 

The  German  critic  assails  French  taste  at  some  length,  and 
claims  that  it  is  based  on  entirely  wrong  principles  : — 

"  An  all-prevailing  fashion,  and  the  decline  of  all  art  during  the 
last  centuries  are  the  causes  through  which  it  has  acquired  and  re- 
tained its  powerful  sway.  The  superioritj'  of  the  French  art-work- 
manship lies  in  the  possession  of  a  great  number  of  artists  who 
extend  and  practice  an  hereditary'  skill  and  dexterity.  The  fasci- 
nating charm  of  their  creations  consists  in  mere  outward  finery  and 
show,  or,  in  an  accomplished  superficial  treatment,  a  manual  facilit3' 
or  genius  for  arrangement,  and  an  originalitj'  of  invention  instead 
of  truthfulness  of  expression  and  faultless  beauty  in  structure  and 
form.  These  accomplishments  and  charm,  certainly  of  great  value, 
when  combined  with  true  art,  are  necessarily  lost  in  copies  and  imi- 
tations, because  the}^  are  the  exchisive  specialty  of  the  French  artist ; 
hence  the  miserable  failure  of  our  own  artists  and  designers,  who 
imitate  French  teachings  and  turn  out  mongrel  conceptions,  neither 
native  or  French." 

Some  part  of  the  above  will  apply  to  ourselves  if  wo  will 
but  be  candid  in  our  confessions.  Admitting  tliis,  we  must 
look  to  it  that  the  aims  of  our  slowly  increasing  number  of 
museums  and  art  schools,  shall  mainly  be  directed  to  correct 
this  servile  defect.  We  are  strons;  enouo;h  now  to  walk  alone 
in  this  path,  as  we  have  in  so  many  others. 

The  critic  quoted  above  points  out  a  remedy  for  the  evils 
of  which  he  complains,  and  as  his  words  help  to  show  the 


132  EXPOSITIOX    AT    VIENNA. 

influence    and    drift    of   modern    art-industrial   education,    a 
furtlier  quotation  will  be  pardoned  : — 

"  There  is  no  difflcult}^  in  finding  the  path  we  must  follow.  Eng- 
land has  already  chosen  it  with  great  success,  and  it  lies  open  to  us 
also.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  reforming  endeavor  in  England,  and 
is  beneficial  for  us,  that  French  taste  and  French  art-industry  are,  in 
themselves,  hollow,  insipid  and  perverted.  It  is  here  that  the  Eng- 
lish appl}'  the  lever  with  a  keen  understanding.  Had  they  continued 
following  the  French,  the}^  would  have  naturally  always  kept  in  the 
back  ground  ;  they  would  not  have  been  able  to  overtake  the  amaz- 
ing start  their  rivals  possessed.  They  were  obliged  first,  to  oppose 
a  new  and  true  taste  to  the  old  acknowledged  bad  one,  and  then  to 
convert  the  world — perhaps  the  hardest  part  of  the  task.  To  the 
arbitrary  caprice  of  the  French,  thej  opposed  conventional  strict- 
ness of  st^de  ;  to  frivolit}',  principles  ;  to  outward  show  and  puppet- 
like  attire,  the  dignit}'  innate  to  art.  In  order  not  to  be  led  astray 
or  to  permit  the  ascendancy  of  what  ought  to  be  secondary,  they 
kept  constantly  before  their  e3'es  the  goal  they  aim  to  reach. 

"  The  recent  international  exhibitions  showed  that  wherever  the 
object  was  taken  up  and  pursued  with  strict  consistency,  as  in  paper 
hangings,  carpets,  porcelain,  terra-cotta  and  upholster^',  but  above 
all  in  works  of  crystal,  the  English  either  surpassed,  or,  after  trav- 
ersing the  wide  distance  which  had  separated  them,  equalled  the 
French.  Where,  however,  they  allowed  themselves  to  remain  sub- 
jected to  French  fashion,  especially  in'  wQrks  of  gold,  silver  and 
jeweller}^,  there  they  remained  far  behind.     *     »     * 

"  We  are  aware,  indeed,  that  the  efforts  which  the  patrons  of  art 
in  England,  supported  by  the  government,  have  made  to  act  upon 
the  public  mind,  are  of  the  most  manifold  kinds ;  that  muse- 
ums and  other  institutions,  general  instruction  in  drawing,  public 
lectures,  popular  literature,  are  constantly  extending  their  influence. 
We  know,  too,  that  this  influence  is  gradually  gaining  ground  every 
day,  and  that  its  ultimate  result  cannot  be  doubtful.  The  present 
state  of  the  case,  and  the  path  we  have  to  follow,  are  thus  clearly 
marked  out  for  us.  In  the  first  place  we  must,  and  that  immediately, 
emancipate  ourselves  from  French  taste.  We  must  no  longer  allow 
ourselves  to  look  with  slavish  admiration  on  Paris.  We  must  not, 
as  hitherto,  regard  whatever  comes  from  thence  as  faultless  in  beauty 
and  unexceptional  in  taste,  without  exercising  our  own  reflection 
and  judgment,  but  rather  look  upon  it  with  the  persuasion  that 
much  that  comes  from  there  is  faultj^  We  allow  that  French 
works  of  art-industr}'  are  very  much  better  than  our  own,  but  still 
they  are  not  absolutely  good,  only  relatively  so." 


EErOKT   OF   ME.    HINTON.  133 

The  writer's  words,  addressed  specially  to  his  own  couutrj^- 
men,  have  certainly  a  meaning  for  us,  if  Ave  ponder  them  over 
well,  now  that  real,  earnest  efforts  are  being  put  forth  to 
found  a  genuine  American  system  of  Education  in  Art-Indus- 
try. But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  if  we  want  quick  and 
valuable  results,  our  outlay  and  exertions  must  be  in  propor- 
tion to  our  desires.  To  give  a  lukewarm  support  to  the 
movement,  and  then,  ten  years  hence,  grumble  because  we 
have  not  effected  as  great  changes  as  other  countries  in  a  like 
period  of  time  have  done,  would  be  but  a  sorry  w\ay  to  bring 
about  a  beneficial  result,  though  it  is  what  is  likely  to  happen 
unless  a  very  strong  interest  is  aroused  in  the  public  mind  in 
behalf  of  the  idea. 

In  England,  it  is  the  fashion  to  grumble  and  growl  at  the 
amount  of  work  performed  by  the  South  Kensington  Museum 
and  Schools,  and  their  method  of  doing  it,  even  for  those  who 
are  ignorant  of  what  is  really  accomplished.  The  work  has 
been  something  marvellous  in  extent  and  rapidity  of  execution, 
as  is  fully  shown  by  the  opinions  of  the  critics  and  observers 
who  are  not  English. 

That  Austria  believes  in  following  the  example  set  by  the 
English  is  plaiu  from  her  actions,  as  is  also  the  case  with  most 
of  the  German  States,  who,  if  they  have  not  already  estab- 
lished Museums  and  Schools  on  the  South  Kensington  plan, 
propose  to  do  so  in  the  near  future,  to  supplement  their 
already  existing  systems  of  technical  and  artistic  instruc- 
tion. Even  Italy  moves  into  line,  notwithstanding  that  her* 
name  is  almost  synonymous  with  the  Beaux  Arts.  France 
early  acknowledged  the  value  of  the  movement,  and  her  re- 
corded statements  are  curious  but  clear  proofs  of  how  soon  it  is 
possible  to  inaugurate  a  new  reign  of  taste,  and  create  the  skill 
to  meet  it.  Bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  International 
Exhibition  of  1851  showed  the  unrivalled  supremacy  of  France 
in  nearly  all  matters  of  Art-Industry,  the  reports  of  the  French 
Commissioners  and  Jurors  of  the  Exhibition  of  1862  will  show 
that  swift  work  had  been  performed  in  the  decade  between 
these  dates,  and  will  establish  the  fact  that  this  Art-education 
as  applied  to  industry  is  no  natural  demand,  but  one  entirely 
artificial  in  character,  shaped  by  the  demands  of  our  complex 
system  of  civilization,  yet  capable  of  an   early  and  rapid 


134  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

development  in  the  hands  of  vigorous  and  well  supported 
leaders. 

The  following  extracts  are  interesting,  as  showing  the  in- 
fluence and  value  of  the  institutions  comprised  in  Group 
XXII.,  illustrated  by  a  single  example — that  at  South  Ken- 
sington : — 

French  Jurors'  Report — 1862. 
[Extract  from  Report  by  M.  Natalis  Rondot.] 

"On  the  closing  day  of  the  Exhibition  of  1851,  Prince  Albert 
pointed  out  to  England  the  new  object  which  she  ought  henceforth 
to  pursue.  His  words  found  an  echo  in  all  workshops,  and  the 
mayor  of  one  of  the  chief  manufacturing  towns  then  said  that  '  the 
greatest  benefit  which  could  be  conferred  upon  industry  would  be  to 
give,  by  the  development  and  improvement  of  Art-education,  a 
purer  and  more  practised  taste  to  the  producer  as  well  as  to  the 
consumer.'  The  Department  of  Science  and  Art  has  been  created 
under  the  sway  of  these  ideas.  *  *  *  *  In  almost  every  direction, 
the  influence  of  a  larger  number  of  teachers  of  drawing,  and  of 
working  draughtsmen  is  making  itself  felt.  '  The  manufacturers  of 
Nottingham,  Manchester,  Sheffield,  Worcester,  and  Staffordshire 
recognize  the  fact  that  their  best  designers  come  from  the  Schools 
of  Art,  and  that,  thanks  to  them,  the  general  character  of  designs 
and  of  forms  has  undergone  the  most  happy  modification. 

"Before  the  next  ten  years  have  passed,  English  industry  will 
have  more  than  one  million  workmen,  who  will  have  acquired,  by 
several  3-ears  of  schooling,  sound  notions  of  Art  and  Science,  and 
an  intelligent  practice  of  drawing;  circulating  museums  and  collec- 
tions will  have  familiarized  many  millions  of  manufacturers  and 
workmen  with  the  styles. of  all  countries,  and  of  all  great  epochs, 
with  the  most  beautiful  tj'pes  of  ornament,  and  the  most  esteemed 
models  of  every  kind." 

[Extract  from  Report  bj'  M.  Rapet.] 

"  The  study  of  drawing  in  the  primary  schools  in  England  dates 
only  from  ten  j^ears  back.  Until  then  it  had  remained  a  privileged 
study,  reserved  exclusively  for  the  richer  classes.  But  the  Exhibi- 
tion of  1851,  which  rendered  distinctly  visible  the  superiority  of 
France,  in  those  products  which  demand  taste,  and  the  value  of 
which  is  based  upon  a  knowledge  of  design,  revealed  to  England 
the  cause  of  her  inferiorit3\  With  that  ardor  which  she  displays  in 
the  pursuit  of  an  object,  as  soon  as  she  thinks  it  useful  to  attain  it, 
she  undertook,  almost  immediately  after  the  close  of  th{?  Exhibition, 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    HINTON.  135 

to  establish  Schools  of  Design  over  the  whole  of  the  United  King- 
dom. Since  then,  she  has  pursued  her  work  with  characteristic  per- 
severance, and  without  shrinldng  from  the  sacrifices  demanded  by 
an  enterprise  in  which  everything  had  to  be  created.  A  new  branch 
of  the  council  on  education  has  been  established,  under  the  title  of 
Department  of  Art.  Its  special  mission  is  to  urge  forward  the 
creation  of  Schools  of  Design,  the  professors  of  which  receive  a 
direct  paj^ment  from  the  government,  and  further  remuneration, 
proportioned  to  the  number  of  pupils  to  whom  they  give  instruction. 
At  the  same  time  a  Normal  School  was  established  for  the  training 
of  masters,  and  a  system  of  awards  and  prizes  organized  to  en- 
courage the  study  of  drawing  on  the  part  of  IJie  pupils  who  attend 
the  schools.  A  Museum  of  objects  of  Art  was  likewise  formed  to 
help  this  teaching,  and  the  Department  of  Art  itself  caused  to  be 
prepared  from  the  commencement,  models  to  serve  for  instruction  in 
the  schools.  Its  example  has  since  been  followed  by  publishers, 
who  have  already  begun  to  publish  important  collections  of  models 
of  design. 

"  It  would  be  out  of  place  to  expect  from  a  system  of  education 
which  is  still  in  its  infancy,  the  progress  which  such  a  system  may 
have  made  in  countries  where  it  has  been  long  established  ;  never- 
theless, in  examining  the  English  Exhibition,  we  must  at  once  admit 
that  England  has  turned  to  good  account  the  experience  of  other 
nations.  In  particular,  she  has  borrowed  largely  from  France, 
whose  published  models  may  be  found  frequently  employed  in  the 
English  schools. 

"  In  observing  the  results  of  these  efforts,  and  taking  notes  of 
deficiencies,  it  is  impossible  to  ignore  the  fact  that  a  serious  struggle 
awaits  France  from  this  quarter,  and  that  by  slumbering  in  treach- 
erous security,  our  countr}^  would  risk  the  loss  of  that  superiority 
to  which  numerous  branches  of  her  industr}^  owe  their  importance 
and  their  glor3% 

"  It  may  not  be  useless  to  add  here  that  England  is  in  another 
respect  our  competitor  by  carrying  off  our  designers.  For  many 
years  her  manufactories  have  attracted  them,  by  the  high  wages 
with  which  their  services  are  remunerated.  But  it  is  a  very  remark- 
able fact  that  these  artists  have  often  lost,  after  sojourning  some 
time  on  the  other  side  of  the  channel,  the  superiority  of  taste  by 
which  they  were  previously  distinguished." 

[Extract  from  Report  by  M.  C.  Robert.] 
"  Since  the  Universal  Exhibition  of  1855,  immense  progress  has 
been  made  throughout  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  although  we  have 
not  remained  stationary,  we  cannot  conceal  from  ourselves  that  the 


136  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

advance  which  we  have  made  has  diminished,  and  even  has  a  ten- 
dency to  disappear. 

"  In  the  midst  of  the  successes  obtained  by  our  workmen,  it  is 
our  duty  to  remind  them  that  defeat  is  possible  ;  that  it  may  be 
even  foreseen  at  no  distant  date,  unless  they  exert  at  once  all  their 
efforts  to  maintain  a  superiority,  which  can  be  kept  only  on  the 
condition  of  incessant  self-improvement. 

"  English  industry  in  particular,  which,  from  the  artistic  point  of 
view  seemed  greatly  in  arrear  at  the  Exhibition  of  1851,  has,  during 
the  last  ten  years,  made  amazing  progress,  and  should  it  continue 
to  advance  at  the  same  rate,  we  might  soon  be  left  behind.  This 
state  of  things  appears  to  us  to  merit  the  most  serious  attention  of 
the  French  government  and  manufacturers.     *     *     * 

"It  is  particularly  in  that  which  concerns  the  application  of  art 
to  industry,  that  England  manifests  the  happiest  and  most  notable 
improvement.  A  new  school  has  been  founded,  on  a  plan  admirably 
devised  for  the  advantage  of  industrj^,  and  neither  care  nor  money 
has  been  spared  to  render  it  worthy  of  its  mission. 

"  With  regard  to  the  influence  exercised  within  so  short  a  period 
by  this  great  institution,  we  fully  admit  the  testimony  of  our  col- 
leagues, the  English  members  of  the  jurj'.  When  questioned  by  us 
as  to  the  causes  to  which  they  ascribed  the  progress  so  obvious,  this 
year,  in  the  products  of  their  manufactures,  all  have  assigned  a  chief 
place  to  the  new  resources  which  are  opened  to  industry  by  the 
schools  of  South  Kensington. 

"  Such  are  the  rivals  whom  our  vforkmen  have  encountered  in  the 
Exhibition  of  1862.  It  is  impossible  to  hide  from  ourselves  that 
the  impulse  given  to  English  industry'  has  not  yet  acquired  its  com- 
plete development,  and  we  must  look  forward  to  see  it  make  new 
efforts,  and  yet  more  brilliant  advances. 

"By  the  side  of  this  increasing  energy  among  the  English,  we 
regret  to  discover  among  our  countr^^men  a  little  too  much  confi- 
dence, a  sort  of  indifference  and  relaxation,  which  are  not  uncom- 
mon results  of  long-continued  success.  The  position  is,  however, 
serious  ;  nay,  even  threatening  ;  it  calls  for  prompt  remedies." 
t 

Quotations  might  be  made  from  the  same  sources  until 
space  was  exhausted,  and  prove,  as  Herr  Jacob  Falke  has 
expressed  it,  that  "  The  reputation  of  the  South  Kensington 
Museum,  or  at  least  the  acknowledgment  of  its  merits,  is 
greater  in  foreign  countries  where  people  look  on  with  im- 
partial eyes,  than  in  England  herself."     (See  "Die  Kunst- 


EEPORT   or   MR.    HINTON.  137 

Industrie  der  Gegenwart :  Studien  auf  der  Pariser  Welt-Ans- 
stellung  in  Jahre,  1867.") 

It  is  strange  that  so  little  has  been  written  by  the  English, 
to  give  a  clear  view  of  what  has  been  and  is  beiuof  done. 
Apart  from  the  government  reports,  it  is  difficult  to  find  the 
least  particle  of  information  relating  to  the  progress  of  the 
work  among  them.  Perhaps  this  is  dite  to  the  fact  that  they 
are  too  much  engaged  in  extending  the  progress  to  stop  to  add 
up  the  results.  Even  in  that  very  interesting  work  by  J.  M. 
Ludlow  and  Lloyd  Jones  :  "  The  Progress  of  the  [English] 
Working  Class,  from  1832-1867,"  we  find  very  little  upon  this 
point,  while  on  other  subjects  the  information  is  extremely 
full  and  exhaustive.  These  authors,  however,  place  the 
original  motive  which  prompted  the  manufacturers  and 
governing  classes  of  England  to  put  extended  facilities  for 
improvement  in  art  and  taste  within  the  reach  of  the  working 
people,  upon  the  right  ground  : — 

"  The  progress  of  the  working  class  in  science  and  art  belongs, 
we  consider,  rather  to  the  education  of  the  man  than  to  tliat  of  the 
child.  The  rudiments  of  both  may  and  should  be  acquired  in  child- 
hood, but  it  requires  the  matured  powers,  the  developed  taste  of  the 
adult,  to  make  either  study  a  reality. 

"  The  public  recognition  of  the  claims  of  the  workingman  to 
prosecute  both,  belongs  entirely  to  the  period  under  review  [1832- 
1867]. 

"  It  was  in  the  field  of  design  that  such  recognition  first  took  place 
— not,  indeed,  from  any  appreciation  of  the  workingman's  right,  as 
a  man,  to  enjoy  all  means  of  manly  culture,  but  simply  with  a  view 
to  making  him  a  more  useful  instrument  in  the  battle  of  competition 
with  foreign  countries." 

The  authors  then  proceed  to  give  an  account  of  the  rise 
and  progress  of  the  South  Kensington  Schools,  etc.,  and 
state  that  within  ten  years  (1855-1866)  the  number  of  art 
pupils  was  all  but  trebled.     And  further  : — 

"  No  higher  testimony  to  the  success  of  England's  efforts  to 
spread  the   knowledge   of  art   and  design   amongst  her   working 
classes  can  be  offered  than  that  of  the  French  workingmen  dele- 
18 


138  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

gates — ^keen,  critical,  jealous  observers — who  were  sent  to  the  great 
Exhibition  of  1862.  Nothing  seems  to  have  struck  them  more  than 
the  development  of  our  system  of  art-education  and  the  progress  in 
design  of  our  workers.*  Thus  the  sculptors  in  ornament  say :  '  The 
progress  made  b}"  sculpture  in  England  is  immense  since  the  Exhi- 
bitions of  1851  and  1855.'  The  cabinet-makers:  '  Comparing  the 
products  of  England  in  i862  with  those  of  1855  one  sees  that  she 
has  made  a  gigantic  advance.'  The  shawl-designers  speak  of  Eng- 
land's great  progress,  and  envy  her  her  schools  of  design.  The  jew- 
ellers, who  admit,  on  several  points,  England's  superiority  to  France, 
regret  that  all  competent  men,  in  the  jewelling,  carving,  engraving, 
enamelling  and  goldsmith's  trades  should  not  have  been  able  to  go 
to  London  to  see  Kensington  Museum.  The  painters  on  porcelain 
dwell  on  the  vast  progress  of  the  English  workmen  within  ten  j-ears, 
and  attribute  it  mainly  to  the  '  immense  extension  given  to  the 
study  of  drawing,'  etc. 

"  Quite  apart,  however,  from  the  commercial  effects  of  our  public 
efforts  for  Art-Education,  is  the  growth,  amongst  workingmen,  of  a 
real  sense  of  the  visibly  beautiful.  Those  who  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity— as  students  in  Mr.  Ruskin's  Drawing-Class  at  the  Loudon 
Workingmen's  College — of  seeing  the  fascination  exercised  over 
man}^  a  workingman  by  the  gradual  discover}^  of  the  hidden  charms 
of  form  and  color  in  the  works  of  God  and  of  man,  know  that  the 
artisan  is  as  capable  of  appreciating  Art,  for  its  own  sake,  and  pur- 
suing it  with  disinterested  love,  as  the  most  refined  aristocrat." 

The  opinions  quoted  above,  all  relate  to  the  progress  the 
people  of  England  have  made  in  improved  powers  of  design, 
art  taste  and  skill  as  applied  to  industry. 

It  needed  the  great  Exposition,  held  at  Paris  in  1867,  to 
show  the  English,  another  want  in  their  systems  of  education. 
It  was  during  the  period  that  this  Exposition  was  open,  and 
since,  that  a  profound  and  wide-spread  interest  was  awakened 
in  Great  Britain  in  the  cause  of  special  scientific  or  technical 
education.  Endeavors  had  been  made  to  establish  something 
of  the  kind  in  England  for  a  series  of  years  previous,  but  with 
little  success, — with  how  little,  the  Paris  Exposition  demon- 
strated conclusively. 

The  London  Society  of  Arts  did  a  great  service,  in  counec- 

*  See  the  interesting  volume,  entitled  "  Rapports  des  Delegues  des  Guvriers  Pari- 
sians a  I'Exposition  de  Londres,  1862,"  Paris,  1862-1864. 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HINTON.  139 

tiou  with  this  subject,  in  selecting  and  sending  to  Paris  a 
body  of  as  intelligent  practical  artisans  as  they  could  find. 
The  observations  and  ideas  these  men  gathered  while  there, 
were  afterward  printed  and  published  in  what  made  a  notable 
book,  calling  forth  a  wide-spread  utterance  on  the  subject  of 
Technical  Education  from  every  one  interested  in  the  advance- 
ment of  the  nation. 

The  artisans  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  subject  of 
Design  and  art  taste,  except  to  notice  the  rapid  and  more 
facile  methods  in  vogue  on  the  continent  for  teaching  the  art 
of  Free-Hand  Drawing ;  but  they  at  once  saw  and  felt  the 
disadvantages  under  which  the  British  artisan  labored  in  com- 
peting with  the  workmen  of  Germany,  France,  Belgium  and 
other  countries  where  there  are  so  many  schools  of  different 
grades  and  kinds  for  the  instruction  of  the  workman,  fore- 
man and  directors  in  technics  of  the  several  crafts  that  they 
followed. 

The  press  took  up  the  theme  with  ardor ;  meetings  were 
held  in  almost  every  town  or  industrial  centre  to  consider  the 
-question ;  much  was  written  and  spoken  explanatory  of  the 
systems  of  education  established  in  France,  Germany,  etc. 

Quite  a  flood  of  literature,  purporting  to  deal  with  the 
interesting  subject,  appeared,  some  of  which  is  of  value ;  as, 
for  instance,  "Cassell's  Technical  Education." 

At  last,  a  Royal  Commission  of  eminent  men  was  consti- 
tuted, with  powers  to  examine  into  what  existed,  to  hear 
testimony,  opinions,  etc.,  of  those  who  could  throw  light 
upon  the  matter,  and  finally  recommend  such  alteration  in  the 
existing  system  as  they  should  deem  necessary. 

The  result  of  the  Commissioners'  labors  appeared  in  1872, 
in  the  form  of  a  voluminous  Blue-Book,  containing  much  that 
is  interesting,  and  much  more  that  is  not.  From  this  report 
a  few  facts  are  selected  that  help  to  throw  light  on  the  history 
of  the  attempts  to  popularize  science  among  the  English 
people. 

Mr.  Cole,  late  head  of  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  but 
who  resigned  that  post  upon  accepting  a  similar  position  over 
the  Annual  International  Exhibition,  held  in  London,  was  the 
first  witness  called,  and  his  testimony  is  the  main  basis  of  the 
facts  collected. 


140  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

It  is  said  of  him,  or  by  him,  "  that  he  had  witnessed  the  con- 
version, since  1852,  of  twenty  limp  Schools  of  Design  into  one 
hundred  and  twenty  flourishing  Schools  of  Art  in  the  kingdom, 
and  other  schools  like  them  had  been  established  on  the  conti- 
nent, in  the  colonies  and  the  United  States.  For  artisans,  five 
hundred  night-classes  for  drawing  had  been  established  ;  one 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  boys  and  girls  were  now  [1873] 
learning  elementary  drawing,  and  one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fifty  schools  and  classes  for  Science  had  spontaneously 
sprung  into  existence.  The  South  Kensington  Museum  had 
been  recently  founded,  as  a  national  centre  for  consulting  the 
best  works  of  Science  and  Art,  and  as  a  store-house  for  circu- 
lating objects  of  Science  and  Art  throughout  the  kingdom. 
While  this  Museum  had  been  visited  by  more  12,000,000 
visitors,  it  had  circulated  objects  to  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  localities,  holding  exhibitions,  to  which  more  than  4,000,- 
000  local  visitors  had  contributed  above  93,000  pounds 
sterling." 

The  happy  result  of  the  labor  of  Mr.  Cole  is  spread 
over  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales.  It  is  pro- 
posed to  present  him  with  a  national  testimonial.  The  idea 
was  mooted  in  London  last  summer,  and  is  a  happy  one ; 
for,  without  doubt,  his  has  been  a  life-long  and  ardent 
work  in  this  special  department  of  progress.  That  he  still 
believes  in  it,  the  earnest  words  uttered  by  him  at  a  pro- 
vincial School  of  Art  quite  recently,  bear  witness. 

Mr.  Cole  said  people  were  still  apt  to  look  at  Museums 
as  mere  collections  of  "  things  rare  and  curious — things  for 
learned  people  only,  for  rich  people  only,  for  dilletanti 
only. 

"The  late  Prince  Consort  and  his  followers  looked  at 
them  from  a  difiierent  point  of  view — the  point  of  view  of 
Science  and  Art  applied-'to  Productive  Industry. 

"  What  did  the  architect  do  who  wanted  to  learn  his  pro- 
fession? He  looked  at  buildings.  What  did  Flaxman  do 
when  he  applied  himself  to  pottery*?  He  studied  Greek 
pottery.  What  did  Herbert  Minton  do  to  enable  his  manu- 
factory to  compete  successfully  with  Sevres  ?  He  collected 
and  studied  the  master-pieces  of  Sevres.  Why  was  Mr. 
Phillips,  the  jeweller,  trusted  to  set  jewels  with  good  taste? 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HINTON.  141 

Because  he  studied  the  ancient  and  mediasval  models.  What 
gave  Pugin  his  reputation  for  Gothic  metal-work  but  his 
study  of  medioeval  models?  What  had  created  a  trade  in 
majolica,  in  England,  but  the  Soularge  collection?  What 
had  given  the  Graces,  and  Jackson  and  Graham,  and  Gil- 
lows,  and  Holland,  their  reputation  for  furniture,  but  their 
knowledge  of  ancient  examples.  It  was  simply  savage  igno- 
rance and  priggish  pedantry  not  to  recognize  the  absolute 
necessity  for  examples  of  art,  easily  consumable  by  the  pub- 
lic who  Avere  consumers,  by  the  manufacturers  who  were 
producers,  and  by  artists  and  artisans  who  were  students. 
Where  were  they  to  consult  them  if  not  in  public  Museums  ? 
Why  was  the  Frenchman  more  apt  at  Industrial  Art  than 
the  Englishman?  Because,  for  a  century,  he  had  had  his 
free  Museum  in  Paris  and  every  other  large  town. 

"  And  public  Museums  were  necessary  for  Science  as  well 
as  Art.  Collections  of  diagrams,  of  educational  apparatus, 
and  of  specimens  of  natural  history,  were  indispensable  to 
the  managers  of  schools  and  teachers.  The  fact  was,  if 
Museums  were  not  educational  they  were  of  very  limited 
value." 

Without  doubt  it  is  greatly  due  to  Mr.  Cole  that  the 
South  Kensington  Museum  and  Schools  have  attained  their 
present  proficiency  and  value — sufficient  to  secure  for  it  the 
Medal  of  Honor  given  to  it  as  the  best  of  this  class  of  insti- 
tutions at  the  Vienna  World's  Fair. 

To  return  to  the  Commissioner's  Eeport  and  the  subject 
of  Science-teaching. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning,  it  is  necessary  to  cite  the 
speech  of  the  queen,  in  1853.  She  then,  b}''  the  advice  of 
her  Government,  declared  that  the  time  had  come  when  the 
nation  should  systematize  scientific  instruction  having  a  bear- 
ing upon  industry. 

That  was  at  the  opening  of  the  sessions  of  Parliament. 
After  her  majesty's  speech  Lord  Aberdeen's  government 
took  the  subject  into  consideration,  and,  after  a  correspond- 
ence with  the  Board  of  Trade,  they  enlarged  the  department 
called  the  Department  of  Practical  Art  into  the  Department 
of  Science  and  Art.     The  object  was  to  extend  the  systerA 


142  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

of  encouragement  already  commenced  in  the  Department  of 
Practical  Art  to  local  institutions  for  Practical  Science. 

The  minutes  further  say,  that  "the  Treasury  agree  that 
that  object  will  be  best  attained  by  the  creation,  in  the 
metropolis,  of  a  school  of  the  highest  class,  capable  of 
affording  the  best  instruction  and  the  most  perfect  training, 
which  can  alone  be  hoped  for  from  an  institution  which  has 
the  command  of  the  most  eminent  and  distinguished  talent, 
the  advantages  of  which  will  be  experienced  by  minor  insti- 
tiTtions  throughout  the  kingdom,  not  only  as  furnishing  a 
central  source  of  information,  but  as  a  means  of  furnishing 
competent  and  well  qualified  teachers  for  local  institutions, 
and  of  completing  the  education  of  pupils  who  desire  higher 
accomplishments  than  can  reasonably  be  expected  from  minor 
schools." 

That  creation  of  a  central  Science  School  exists  at  present 
only  in  words.     There  is  no  Science  School,  but  it  looks  as, 
if  this  minute  would  be  carried  out  ere  long. 

It  is  even  proposed  in  England  to  create  a  National  Insti- 
tution of  Science,  or  college  of  the  highest  class,  at  which 
shall  be  assembled  all  the  great  authorities  in  this  domain 
who  can  be  got  to  act  as  professors,  and  such  students  as 
desire  the  highest  training  that  can  be  received.  It  is  only 
a  proposal  as  yet,  but  serves  to  indicate  which  way  the  tide 
is  running. 

Various  attempts  were  made,  after  the  passing  of  this 
minute,  to  create  what  were  then  called  Trade  Schools. 
For  a  few  years  they  did  not  succeed  very  well,  and  when 
the  late  Lord  Salisbury  became  Lord  President  of  the  Coun- 
cil, he  firmly  determined  either  to  abolish  the  word  Science 
out  of  the  title  of  the  department,  or  to  cause  some  Science 
to  be  given  to  the  country.  Accordingly,  about  the  year 
1859,  certain  principles  were  laid  down  which  enabled  the 
department  to  encourage  the  teaching  of  certain  sciences 
assumed  to  have  a  direct  bearing  upon  industry  throughout 
the  country. 

The  principles  then  established  have  been  carried  much 
further.  The  Science-classes  were,  in  1860,  nine  in  number, 
and  have  increased  since  to  twelve  hundred  and  fifty.     They 


REPOKT    OF   MR.    HINTON.  143 

are  conducted  by  certified  and  uncertified  day-school  teach- 
ers, and  are  commonly  held  in  day-school  rooms.  The  sub- 
jects taught  are  as  follows  : — 

1.  Practical  Plane  and  Solid  Geometr3\ 

2.  Machine  Construction  and  Drawing. 

3.  Building  Construction. 

4.  Naval  Architecture  and  Drawing. 

5.  Pure  Mathematics. 

6.  Theoretical  Mechanics. 

7.  Applied  Mechanics. 

8.  Acoustics,  Light  and  Heat. 

9.  Magnetism  and  Electricity. 

10.  Inorganic  Chemistrj'. 

11.  Organic  Chemistry. 

12.  Geology. 

13.  Mineralogy. 

14.  Animal  Physiology. 

15.  Zoology. 

16.  Vegetable  Anatomy  and  Physiology. 

17.  Systematic  and  Economic  Botany. 

18.  Principles  of  Mining. 

19.  Metallurgy. 

20.  Navigation. 

21.  Nautical  Astronom3'. 

22.  Steam. 

23.  Physical  Geograph}'. 

In  the  Government  Tables,  every  institution  in  which  sci- 
entific instruction  is  given  is  counted  as  a  school,  though 
the  subjects  taught  and  the  number  of  classes  in  them  vary 
much.  In  some  instances  a  school  consists  of  but  one  class, 
in  which  only  one  subject  is  taught,  while  in  others  there  are 
ten  or  more  classes  in  different  subjects. 

The  progress  of  the  Science  Schools  since  the  passing  of  the 
general  Science  minute,  June,  1859  is  shown  in  the  following 
Table :— 


144 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


No.  of  Schools. 

No.  under  In- 
struction. 

1860,         

9 

500 

1862, 
1864, 
1866, 
1867, 

70 

91 

153 

212 

2,643 

4,666 

6,835 

10,230 

1868, 
1869, 
1870, 

300 
516 
810 

15,010 
21,500 
27,956 

At  present,  as  before  stated,  there  are  1,250  Science  classes 
in  Great  Britain  in  direct  connection  with  the  South  Kensing- 
ton centre.  It  is  stated  that  212  schools,  in  1867  had  560 
classes  in  different  subjects;  of  these  10,230  scholars,  4,520 
went  up  for  examination,  besides  400  persons  not  taught  in 
classes  aided  by  the  Department. 

It  was  stated  by  Mr.  N".  McLeod,  one  of  the  South  Ken- 
sington masters,  "That  whilst  the  pupils  who  attended  the 
Drawing  classes  belong  almost  entirely  to  the  working  class, 
the  proportion  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  being  very  small,  on 
the  other  hand,  those  who  attended  the  Science  classes  belong 
entirely  to  the  laboring  class." 

Mr.  Cole  said,  in  the  course  of  his  statement  before  the 
Royal  Commission,  in  reply  to  a  question  concerning  the 
earlier  pupils  who  had  been  educated  at  these  schools  : — 

"  The  best  of  them  come  to  the  surface  and  get  scholarships,  and 
I  should  hazard  the  prediction  that  they  turn  into  Science  teachers, 
who  make  teaching  the  business  of  their  life.  (In  some  instances 
within  my  recollection  are  j^oung  people  whose  ability  has  first  been 
manifested  at  those  examinations,  who,  taking  several  high  positions 
in  different  examinations,  became  qualified  to  obtain  scholarships, 
and  studied  afterwards,  either  in  the  London  School  of  Mines,  or  at 
the  College  of  Science  in  Dublin,  and  now  earn  their  living  wholly 
by  teaching.)  Manufacturers  also  employ  them,  on  account  of  their 
scientific  attainments." 


It  has  not  been  the  policy  of  the  State  in  England  to  aid  or 
interfere  with  the  education  of  the  middle  classes,  except  to 
some  slight  extent,  and  that  indirectly,  by  State  endowments 


in  colleges. 


REPOET   OP   ME.    HINTON.  145 

The  general  opiuion  of  the  country,  working  through  the 
School's  Enquiry  Commission,  and  such  agencies,  can  alone 
be  looked  to,  to  make  any  important  change  in  the  way  of  in- 
troducing the  study  of  Science.  Nothing,  however,  can  have 
much  ejffect  on  the  Grammar  Schools  and  Middle-Class  Schools 
of  that  country,  until  the  Universities,  which  give  the  key 
of  education  in  the  country,  allow  a  fair  proportion  of  their 
endowments  to  the  reward  of  scientific  studies.  The  instruc- 
tion in  the  primary  schools  is,  of  course,  only  of  an  elementary 
character.  That  in  the  adult  night  classes,  though  in  some 
cases  carried  a  little  further,  for  want  of  time,  means  and 
apparatus  cannot  go  to  any  depth.  Such  instruction,  generally 
diffused,  is  of  great  use ;  but  it  only  goes  far  enough  to  warn 
people  of  the  mistake  they  may  fall  into  from  their  ignorance  ; 
to  teach  them  not  to  be  satisfied  with  mere  empiricism ;  to 
show  them  how  Science  may  be  applied  to  their  work,  and  to 
induce  them  to  follow  up  their  education.  The  application  of 
Science  to  the  Arts  can  only  be  made  by  those  who  have 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  special  branches.  The  masters, 
mechanics,  foremen  and  others,  who  have  learned  what  they 
know  of  Science  by  the  aid  of  the  South  Kensington  Museum 
are  but  a  small  percentage  of  those  engaged  in  industry. 
Any  of  the  poorer  people,  who  show  a  special  ability  and 
aptitude  for  Science  can  only  follow  it  out  if  supported  while 
pursuing  their  study.  The  richer  classes  can  always  get 
what  they  may  desire  by  paying  for  it. 

The  efficient  head  of  the  Science  Department  of  South 
Kensington,  I.  F.  D.  Donnelly,  makes  the  following  state- 
ment : — 

"  Much  is  said  about  the  necessity  for  technical  instruction,  and 
efforts  are  being  made  to  induce  the  State  to  supply  it.  It  becomes, 
therefore,  necessarj^  to  consider  how  far,  if  at  all,  the  State  can  take 
this  np  advantageously^,  as  distinct  from  the  general  scientific  in- 
struction. 

"  This  idea  is  proposed  from  two  rather  different  points  of  view. 
The  one  proposed  is  to  have  a  Technical  School  adapted  to  the 
staple  industry  of  a  place ;  the  other,  apparentlj^,  to  teach  trades 
which  do  not  exist  there,  with  the  idea  of  their  introduction. 

"  Real,  technical  instruction,  the  teaching  of  a  trade  or  art,  itself, 
on  scientific  principles,  necessarily  entails  workshops  for  practice. 

19 


146  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

It  would  be  scarcely  possible  to  devise  a  more  effectual  blow  to  the 
manufacturers  of  a  place,  than  for  the  State  to  establish  a  really 
Technical  School  for  their  trade,  with  its  workshops  under  no  con- 
straint to  pay  its  expenses,  underselling  them,  and  interfering  with 
their  market.  A  State  Potterj^  School  and  Messrs.  Mintons'  could 
not  exist  side  by  side. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  for  the  State  to  teach  trades  where  they  do 
not  exist,  with  the  view  of  introducing  them,  and  thereby  most 
probably  tempting  them  away  from  where  they  have  established 
themselves,  could,  at  the  most,  only  be  innocuous  so  long  as  it  was 
ineffectual. 

"  With  regard  to  general  industr}^,  it  ma}"  be  taken  that  the  action 
of  the  State  cannot  safel}^  go  further  than  by  aiding  and  encourag- 
ing instruction  in  general  Science — or  such  applied  Science  as 
Mining  and  Metallurgy. 

"  The  Commission  for  the  College  of  Sciences  for  Ireland  laid 
down  that  its  aim  should  be  to  impart  a  sound  and  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  those  branches  of  Science  which  may  be  applied  to  industry", 
leaving  it  to  the  student,  subsequently,  to  specialize  his  knowledge, 
and  turn  his  attention  in  the  direction  he  may  find  most  suitable." 

The  Captain  points  out  a  method  of  aiding  pure  technical 
instruction  "  in  the  very  best  way,"  by  means  of  the  existing 
system  of  payment  on  results.  That  is  to  say,  the  teachers 
will  received  a  fixed  sum  from  the  Department  of  Science  for 
every  pupil  of  theirs  that  passes  the  necessary  examination, 
in  addition  to  the  fees  paid  by  the  pupils,  or  the  help  that 
manufacturers  might  extend,  either  separately  or  in  combina- 
tion, to  establish  schools  for  the  instruction  of  their  employes. 

"  The  state,  by  paying  on  the  results  of  elementary  and  scientific 
instruction,  would  assist  in  the  instruction  of  the  students  just  up  to 
the  point  of  their  learning  the  absolute  trade. 

"There  is  nothing  to  prevent  manufacturers,  with  energy  and 
public  spirit,  from  establishing  as  good  schools  as  those  of  M. 
.  Schneider  at  Creuzot,  and  obtaining  as  much  government  aid  toward 
,them." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  account  that  the  South 
Kensington  Department  of  Science  and  Art  has  commenced 
the  work,  in  a  broad  sense,  of  diffusing  scientific  instruction, 
generally,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  nation. 
Jt  will  be  also  seen  that  its  action  is  preparatory  as  yet,  but 


EEPOET    OF   MR.    HINTON.  147 

indicating,  as  the  result  aimed  at,  a  much  higher  and  wider 
system  of  training  in  tlie  future. 

As  the  Commissioners  whom  we  have  quoted  write  in  their 
Eeport : — 

"  The  ground  thus  prepared  may  hereafter  be  occupied,  step  by- 
step,  with  Elementary  Science  Schools  in  well  constructed  build- 
ings, supplied  with  proper  apparatus  and  a  sufficient  staff  of  trained 
teachers.  These  schools  may  train  assistant  teachers,  may  group 
around  them  humbler  classes,  and  aid  them  with  apparatus  and 
superintendence  or  instruction. 

"  The  first  steps  have  been  taken  with  such  vigor,  and  the  result 
has  been  to  such  an  extent  successful,  that  we  confidently  expect 
that,  with  needful  guidance  and  encouragement,  a  thoroughly  efficient 
system  of  elementar}^  scientific  instruction  for  the  working  classes, 
may,  ere  long,  be  founded  on  this  basis." 

The  "  worlvins"  classes  "  themselves  be2:ui  to  move  in  this 
matter.  Last  summer  was  very  prolific  of  meetings  among 
them,  called  for  the  purpose  of  considering  this  subject, 
besides  a  deputation  of  members  of  their  body,  who  waited 
upon  the  head  of  the  Board  of  Education,  Mr.  Forster,  M.  P. 
for  Bradford,  and  the  authorities  of  South  Kensington,  to 
urge  various  questions  they  wanted  noticed,  upon  the  powers 
that  be. 

The  facilities  already  afforded  them  for  special  instruction, 
the  museums,  the  independent  institutions  existing  having  a 
like  object  in  view,  the  flood  of  literature  prepared  for  their 
enlightenment  during  the  last  four  years,  and  the  utterances 
of  the  trained  leaders  among  them,  gradually  bring  to  the  front 
this  need  of  the  present  time. 

In  considering  what  can  be  done  to  help  the  present  gener- 
ation of  grown-up  artisans,  as  well  as  the  rising  generation, 
the}^  themselves  see  that  it  is  not  possible  for  them  to  go  back 
to  the  primary  or  elementary  schools,  but  that  something 
should  be  done  for  them,  or  by  them,  to  supply  what  is 
lacking. 

It  is  generally  admitted  all  along  the  line,  that  Museums 
of  Art  and  Science  are  of  the  first  importance,  as  places  of 
instruction  and  reference.  The  fault  found  by  the  artisans  is 
that  there  are  not  enough  of  them ;  that  those  existing  are 


148  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

either  too  far  away  from  their  homes,  or  closed  when  they 
have  leisure  to  visit  them, — in  the  evening  or  on  Sundays, — 
or  that  they  are  so  crowded  by  mere  loungers  as  to  drive 
earnest  students  away.  Then,  it  is  complained,  that  the  pres- 
ent facilities  for  education  are  not  quite  what  are  needed,  or 
what  the  workmen  understand  by  the  term  Technical  Educa- 
tion. It  is  felt  that  sometliing  practical  must  ere  long  be 
accomplished  if  the  English  artisans  are  to  maintain  their  high 
reputation  as  cunning  and  skilful  workers,  especially  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  apprenticeship  system,  as  with  us,  is  almost 
obsolete.  It  is  thought  by  many  that  the  medieval  system  of 
Trade  Guilds,  if  they  could  be  revived,  would  meet  the  needs  • 
of  to-day.  The  discussion  upon  this  point,  if  related  fully, 
would  prove  extremely  interesting  to  workmen ;  but  it  can 
only  be  briefly  noticed  here,  in  preference  to  the  European, 
Continental,  Government  Trade-Schools,  for  the  reason  that 
the  English  are  trying  to  bring  about  an  improved  system  of 
training,  more  in  accordance  with  the  free,  American  govern- 
ment ;  namely,  by  individual  or  combined  effort  in  preference 
to  clamoring  for  state  help  ;  the  feeling  being  one  of  watchful 
jealousy  lest  the  government  crush  out  all  the  springs  of 
healthy,  free  individual  action,  dwarfing  the  people  into  mere 
automatic  beings,  with  everything  marked  out  for  them  and 
limited. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  technical  and  practical  knowledge 
how  to  work  at  any  trade  in  the  best  way,  is  a  valuable  posses- 
sion. It  can  only  be  acquired  at  the  cost  of  time,  money, 
mental  and  bodily  labor.  It  is  a  species  of  capital,  only  to  be 
parted  with  for  a  fair  return.  Formerly,  each  employer  of  labor, 
for  the  most  part,  had  learned  his  own  trade  as  an  apprentice, 
had  worked  at  it  for  a  time  as  a  journeyman,  or  as  his  own 
employer,  and  taught  apprentices  to  help  him  in  his  business. 
Hence,  he  had  a  direct  interest  in  making  his  assistants  the 
best  possible  workmen,  and  imparted  freely  to  them  all  the 
ordinary  knowledge  and  all  the  more  hidden  secrets  of  his 
trade.  But  with  the  modern  system,  of  great  capital,  of  large 
workshops  and  factories,  Tyhich  has  been  inaugurated  during 
the  last  century,  the  duty  of  teaching  apprentices  devolves  on 
journeymen,  who — except  in  the  case  of  a  father  and  son — have 
not -only  very  little  interest  in  teaching  the  youth,  but  who. 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HINTON.  149 

in  many  cases,  feel  that  they  are  training  pupils  to  become 
their  rivals.  "When  an  employer  finds  that  a  young  man  of 
twenty  can  do  his  work  as  efficiently  and  more  rapidly  than 
an  old  workman  employed  at  double  the  wages,  there  is  great 
danger  that  the  older  hand  will  be  discharged,  the  younger 
one  being  put  in  his  place.  This,  though  true  of  England,  is 
only  partly  applicable  to  ue,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  demand 
for  skilled  labor  exceeds  the  supply,  though  this  is  lessening 
every  day,  as  the  population  increases ;  so  that,  like  the 
British  people,  this  nation  will  have  to  consider  the  question 
of  apprenticeships  and  Trade  Guilds,  or  some  other  system 
that  will  give  a  constant  supply  of  able  workmen. 

The  working  of  the  two  systems  is  well  described  in  the 
following  passage  from  an  able  and  interesting  paper  on 
"  Guilds,"  read  by  Dr.  Yeates  at  a  meeting  of  the  London 
Society  of  Arts,  January  29th,  1873. 

He  had  been  showing  how  the  old  "  Guilds  "  of  the  differ- 
ent trades,  formed  by  our  ancestors,  in  which  employers  and 
workmen  were  alike  enrolled,  provided  for  technical  educa- 
tion : — 

"As  we  have  already  seen,  the  Craft-Guild  did,  aforetime,  largely 
take  charge  of  industrial  education.  This  was,  indeed,  its  first 
care.  Apprentices  were  regularly  enrolled,  and  provision  was  made 
for  their  instruction.  Journej'men,  likewise,  were  constrained  to 
improve  themselves  in  the  mysteries  of  their  craft.  What  would  be 
called  examinations  in  our  da}"  were  periodically  held  in  different 
parts  of  the  country ;  and  frequeutl}',  too,  comparisons  were  insti- 
tuted between  the  work  of  native  artisans  and  of  foreigners,  not 
always  to  the  advantage  of  the  former.  Many  of  our  Grammar 
Schools  owe  their  existence  to  the  '  Guilds,'  and  higher  institu- 
tions profited  by  their  liberality," 

And  again : — 

• 

"  One  point  of  contrast  between  the  old  Craft-Guild  and  its  modern 
analogue — the  Trade-Union — should  be  noticed.  Trade  Unions  are 
societies  of  workmen,  while  the  Craft-Guilds  included  master  and 
workmen  alike.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  distinguish  between  the 
master  of  modern  times,  the  wealthy  capitalist  at  the  head  of  a  great 
concern,  employing  workmen  by  the  hundred,  or  even  by  the  thou- 
sand, and  the  masters  of  mediaeval  England.     To  be  a  master  it  was 


150  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

necessary  to  have  been,  first,  an  apprentice  and  then  a  journeyman, 
and  it  can  easil}^  be  seen  that  such  masters  would  rarel}^  be  large 
capitalists.  While  this  state  of  things  lasted,  workmen  who  would, 
in  all  probability,  become  masters,  and  masters  who  had  been  work- 
men, were  actuated  by  similar  motives,  and  therefore  worked 
together  harmoniousl3\  As  the  masters  became  capitalists  tt^is 
community-interest  died  out,  and  from  the  time  of  Elizabeth  the 
Guild  declined  ;  and  now  its  modern  lineal  descendant,  the  Livery 
Compan}',  has  too  often  preserved  little  of  the  character  of  the  parent 
institution  but  its  conviviality  and  the  distribution  of  some  anti- 
quated charities." 

The  agitation  now  proceeding  in  connection  with  this  revi- 
val of  the  question  of  the  utility  of  the  old  Craft  Guilds, 
points  out  to  the  modern  Unions  that  it  would  be  for  the 
interest  of  the  Trade  Societies  of  the  United  States  and  the 
United  Kingdom  that  they  should  see  that  the  required  prac- 
tical instruction  in  their  respective  trades  is  supplied  to  their 
members.  It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  them  to  keep 
up  a  high  standard  of  workmanship,  and  all  the  more  so  as 
they  aim  at  keeping  up  a  fair  standard  of  wages. 

It  is  proposed  that  classes  for  technical  instruction — as 
distins^uished  from  the  higher  and  scientific  education — and 
for  Art-workmanship  in  trades  requiring  it,  should  be  estab- 
lished, supported  and  managed  by  each  Trade  Society  in  its 
respective  locality ;  in  fact,  that  they  assume  more  of  the 
functions  of  the  old  Craft  Guilds. 

In  connection  with  this  movement  it  is  stated  that  the 
University  of  Cambridge  wishes  to  help  workingmen  to 
obtain  higher  education,  by  sending  some  of  its  ablest  men 
to  give  instruction  on  subjects  of  interest  or  importance  to 
workingmen,  provfded  that  in  each  locality  there  shall 
be  a  proper  organization  for  making  the  requisite  arrange- 
ments, and  a  sufficient  number  of  students  to  benefit  by  the 
proposed  teaching.  "As  the  nation  cannot  go  to  the  Uni- 
versities, let  the  Universities — through  their  ablest  repre- 
sentatives— come  to  the  nation." 

The  South  Kensington  Institution  has  so  far  achieved  one 
of  its  objects  for  the  good  of  the  people  as  "to  teach  them 
not  to  be  satisfied  with  mere  empiricism ;  to  show  them  how 


REPORT   OF   MR.    HINTON.  151 

Science  may  be  applied  to  their  work,  and  to  induce  them  to 
follow  it  up." 

The  exhibit  made  by  it  at  Vienna,  though  not  at  all  equal 
to  the  high  position  it  occupies  in  the  world,  showed  that  it 
had  also  been  enabled  to  help  to  bring  about  a  solution  ot 
another  important' problem ;  i.  e.,  the  enlargement  of  the 
confines  of  woman's  work.  Many  of  the  students  at  South 
Kensington  are  ladies,  who  have,  through  its  agencies  and 
teachings,  been  enabled  to  earn  a  fair  competence  for  their 
work;  this,  in  some  instances,  being  entirely  new  to  the 
industries  of  England.  Examples  of  woman's  work  were 
shown  in  the  hall  occupied  by  the  South  Kensington  Museum 
at  the  Exposition,  consisting  of  designs  for  Lace,  Fans, 
Etchings — an  old  art  revived — Decorative  Wall-paper,  and 
other  Art-industries. 

The  remainder  of  the  objects  exhibited  do  not  call  for 
any  special  notice,  consisting  as  they  did  of  the  usual  col- 
lection of  articles  that  go  to  make  up  a  Museum,  similar  in 
character  to  those  shown  by  the  Vienna  Museum,  differing 
in  detail  but  not  in  the  general  tone. 

Instances  were  not  lacking  among  the  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  British  exhibitors,  serving  to  illustrate  with  more 
potency  than  the  official  display  of  student's  work,  the  ben- 
eficial influence  of  the  South  Kensington  School  of  Art. 

Here  is  an  illustration :  Messrs.  Doulton,  of  London, 
amid  their  multifarious  display  of  sanitary  earthenware, 
drain-pipes,  plumbago  crucibles,  terra-cotta,  and  domestic 
utensils,  such  as  water-pitchers,  drinking-mugs  and  jars, 
shoAved  a  set  of  this  latter  kind  of  ware  that  consisted  of 
real  objects  of  Art,  both  as  to  form,  coloring,  and  the 
designs  upon  them.  These  have  all  been  made  within  the 
last  two  years.  The  material  used  is  the  same  as  that  from 
which  the  old  brown  "  Tobies  "  are  made,  so  common  in  the 
English  country  ale-houses,  and  with  which  nearly  every 
one  is  familiar,  in  the  form  of  the  earthenware  teapots,  sold 
by  all  dealers  in  like  commodities. 

One  of  the  firm  (Mr.  James  Doulton)  illustrated  in  a 
most  forcible  and  direct  way  the  value  of  Art-taste  in  works 
of  industry,  by  a  simple  method.  Selecting  two  pitchers 
from  his  collection  be  said  ;  "  This  is  an  old-fashioned  jug 


152  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

worth  tenpence ;  this  other  one,  made  from  precisely  simi- 
lar materials,  both  in  quality  and  quantity,  is  an  example  of 
our  new  style,  and  is  worth  ten  shillings."  The  difference 
consisted  in  the  improved  form  and  simple  quaintness  of  the 
designs  burnt  on  the  sides  of  the  new  examples  of  the  pot- 
ter's art.     No  two  are  made  alike. 

"  The  artist  workman  who  has  shown  an  aptitude  for  this 
work  is  the  son,"  says  Mr.  Doulton,  "of  a  journeyman 
wheelwright,  and  would  in  all  likelihood  have  continued  a 
wheelwright,  like  his  father,  if  there  had  not  been  a  local 
branch  of  the  South  Kensington  School  near  his  home  to 
which  he  went,  out  of  curiosity  in  the  first  instance,  and 
afterward  continued  to  attend  because  of  the  new  and 
absorbing  interest  awakened  within  him.  At  this  school 
the  manufactory  found  him,  and  drew  him  to  a  field  of  use- 
fulness where  he  could  turn  his  developed  talent  to  account, 
not  only  to  the  profit  of  himself  and  his  employer,  but  to 
that  of  the  nation.  Some  other  less  apt  and  artistic  man 
could  fill  the  wheelwright's  position  which  he  vacated." 

Mr.  Doulton  laughingly  said  that  his  old  brown  pitcher 
was  one  of  the  objects  collected  by  Mr.  Cole  to  form  what 
he  termed  his  Cabinet  of  Horrors  :  i.  e.,  objects  in  every 
day  use,  devoid  of  taste,  art,  or  beauty  in  any  shape.  It  is 
devoutly  to  be  hoped  that  no  one  will  act  on  his  idea  and 
make  a  similar  collection  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
bare  thought  of  such  a  contingency  is  fearful  to  contem- 
plate, and  we  must  be  held  blameless  if  it  should  arise. 

So  much  space  is  already  used  that  it  becomes  impossible 
to  give  as  fall  an  account  of  the  many  exhibits  made  by  the 
German  States  illustrating  the  subject  as  could  be  wished, 
remembering  their  great  value.  Brief  allusion  may  be  made 
to  some  of  them,  or  rather  to  the  result. 

An  instance' has  been  cited  of  the  influence  of  the  Ger- 
man system  of  Technical  Education  upon  the  English 
nation,  which,  awake  to  its  deficiencies  in  this  particular, 
noted  what  its  Teutonic  and  Swiss  neighbors  had  achieved. 
This  is  a  good  recommendation  as  to  their  value.  In  this 
country  no  other  proof  is  needed  of  the  efficiency  of  Ger- 
man home-training  than  the  quality  of  the  citizens  sent 
thence  to  our  shores. 


EEPORT   OF   ME.    HINTON.  153 

No  expense  was  spared  in  fitting  up  the  difierent  halls  and 
separate  buildings,  wherein  the  various  states  of  the  German 
Empire  exhibited  what  they  had  sent  to  Vienna,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  illustrating  their  educational  systems.  Here  were 
really  Museums  of  objects  used  in  Technical  or  Art  Schools. 
It  would  have  been  a  splendid  thing  if  one  of  our  rich  men 
had  gone  over,  and  bought  up  some  one  of  them  and  sent  it 
home  for  the  benefit  of  his  countrymen.  A  perfectly  feasible 
idea,  if  the  rich  man  had  only  existed. 

It  Avas  most  surprising  and  interesting  to  note  the  reach  of 
the  educational  facilities  aiforded  to  the  people  of  some  of  the 
smaller  states  by  their  respective  state,  communal  and  social 
agencies.  It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  larger  and  wealthier 
states  would  have  admirable  arrangements.  The  prosperity 
of  these  small  states  can  be  noted  by  almost  any  one,  which 
fact  may  be  taken  as  a  proof,  if  proof  be  needed,  of  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  judicious  course  pursued  in  the  past  and  con- 
tinued in  the  present. 

Selecting  examples  at  random,  one  may  find  that  in  the 
Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse  all  that  can  be  done  is  done  for  the 
people.  The  workingman ,  has  every  opportunity  for  im- 
provement. Education  is 'provided  for  his  children  free  of 
charge,  and  for  apprentices  and  workmen  desirous  of  improv- 
ing themselves,  there  are  winter  schools,  where  book-keeping, 
mental  arithmetic,  etc.,  are  taught,  and  similar  schools  are 
open  in  summer  for  women  and  girls. 

Of  the  men  called  out  to  fill  up  vacancies  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Hessian  Division  in  1870-71,  out  of  the  total  of  4,542, 
only  14  were  without  a  school  education. 

There  are  also  the  so-called  "Handwerks  Schulen,"  or 
Schools  of  Design  for  Artisans.  These  were  first  started  with 
a  surplus  of  $250,  which  remained  from  the  receipts  of  the 
first  International  Exhibition  in  1837  ;  and  two  schools  were 
started  as  an  experiment,  one  Avith  fifty  pupils  and  another 
with  twenty-eight.  These  were  found  to  answer  so  well,  that 
now,  there  are  fifty-two  such  schools,  with  3,000  pupils  attend- 
ing them.  As  a  result,  cooperative  societies, — benefit  clubs, 
managed  by  the  workmen  themselves, — exist  in  considerable 
numbers ;  also  savings  banks,  of  which  the  artisans  avail 
themselves  more  and  more  every  year, 

20 


154  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

The  schools  commenced  with  $250  !  The  statement  seems 
almost  incredible,  but  it  is  easier  to  believe  it  after  what  was 
seen  at  Nuremberg,  where  a  museum  on  the  plan  of  that  of 
South  Kensington  has  recently  been  formed.  It  was  evident 
that  the  Nurembergers  were  more  bent  on  making  a  start  than 
on  building  a  grand  edifice  for  their  museum.  Having  decided 
that  such  an  institution  was  needed,  they  went  to  work  at 
once,  without  being  too  particular  as  to  where  they  worked, 
so  that  a  commencement  was  made. 

The  exclamation  was  natural,  when  first  seeing  what  was 
pointed  out  as  the  Museum  :  "  This  cjinnot  be  the  Museum 
of  Art  and  Industry!"  for  it  was  over  a  meat  market,  in 
what  had  once  been  a  prison.  Yet  this  was,  or  rather  had 
been,  the  Museum,  which  changed  its  quarters  but  a  few 
days  before  the  writer  visited  the  city  for  more  commodious 
though  still  not  palatial  shelter. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  German  museums  and  educational  sys- 
tems grow  bit  by  bit,  until,  some  day,  it  is  discovered  with 
astonishment,  what  splendid  results  they  have  achieved. 

Bavaria  presents  a  capital  example  of  the  good  results  flow- 
ing from  a  wise  e]icourao::ement  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  other 
places  beside  Nuremberg,  one  of  its  cities. 

Munich,  its  capital,  under  liberal  and  systematic  expendi- 
tures by  the  central  government,  has  become,  w^ithin  the  last 
half  century,  eminent  among  the  capitals  of  Europe  for  its 
public  buildings,  its  historic  monuments  and  memorials,  its 
art  treasures,  its  libraries,  laboratories,  and  facilities  for  high 
literary,  scientific  and  art  culture. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  Report  on  Education  in 
Germany,  issued  by  the  National  Bureau  at  Washington  : — 

"In  a  mere  economical  view,  in  their  relation  to  the  industrial 
development  of  the  capital,  the  large  expenditures  required  to  build 
and  equip  the  PinakotJieJcs,  with  their  1,800  pictures,  300,000  en- 
gravings and  9,000  drawings;  the  Gbjplothek,  with  its  twelve  gal- 
leries of  ancient  sculpturp,  and  its  large  collection  of  the  works  of 
Canova,  Thowaldsen,  Schadow,  and  other  modern  sculptors  ;  the 
Royal  Library^  and  its  800,000  volumes, — four  tiipes  the  number  in 
the  Library  of  Congress  ;  the  University,  with  its  five  faculties, 
100  professors,  and  the  Conservatorism  of  Sciences,  with  their 
laboratories,  museums  of  natural  history,  botanic  garden  and  arbore- 


EEPOET    OF    MR.    HINTON.  155 

turn  ;  the  Royal  Foundries,  to  which  this  government  is  obliged  to 
resort,  for  casts  of  its  bronze  doors  and  memorial  figures,  even 
when  designea  by  its  own  artists ;  and  the  Public  Paries, — all  these 
expenditures,  not  extravagant  in  any  one  3'ear,  but  liberal  and  sys- 
tematic from  year  to  year,  after  fifty  years  have  made  Mimich  the 
home  of  artists,  and  professors  foremost  in  every  department  of 
Science,  and  have  been  felt  in  their  beneficence  throughout  all  the 
mechanic  industries,  and  by  every  class  in  the.  kingdom." 

The  instance  cited  above,  of  our  Government  being  com- 
pelled to  get  work  done  at  the  royal  foundries  at  Munich  that 
ought  to  be  done  at  home,  if  the  right  conditions  existed,  as 
they  should  exist,  is  not  a  solitary  case.  A  long  list  might 
be  compiled,  of  cities  and  individuals,  v^ho  have  been  com- 
pelled to  send  thither  for  similar  w^ork,  needed  for  fountains, 
memorials,  etc.  So  much  is  this  the  practice  that  it  has  come 
to  be  thought  the  right  course  to  pursue.  Thus,  for  waul  of 
a  knowledge  of  some  technical  and  artistic  details  in  manipu- 
lation and  finish,  purchases  are  made  to  a  vast  extent  from 
Europe,  which,  if  our  workmen  and  designers  had  but  some 
of  the  facilities  afforded  them  which  there  exist,  would  be 
made  at  home. 

Happily,  Massachusetts  has  commenced  this  needed  work. 

Nuremberg,  a  city  of  less  than  80,000  inhabitants,  four 
thousand  miles  away  from  these  shores,  can  compel  us,  under 
our  present  system  to  send  it,  in  exchange  for  their  manu- 
factured goods, — take  as  an  example  the  years  1870-71,  and 
1871-72,— in  dollars: 

Amount  for  1871-72,     .         .         .     $2,511,419  65 
"    1870-71,     .         .         .       2,107,663  18 

and  this  for  articles  we  claim  to  make,  in  the  main,  for  our- 
selves, as  will  be  seen  by  the  citation  of  the  following  articles, 
from  the  list  before  us  ;  viz.,  cotton  and  linen  goods,  leather, 
boots  and  shoes,  gas-burners,  stockings,  baskets  and  basket 
ware,  combs,  hardware,  colors,  etc. 

The  fact  is,  no  doubt,  partly  due  to  the  cheaper  rates  at 
which  the  goods  can  be  manufactured  in  Germany,  and  all 
over  Europe,  owing  to  the  low  wages  paid  the  work-people ; 
but  it. is  also  due  to  the  superior  skill  and  taste  displayed  by 


156  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

the  workers,  taught  in  the  schools  aud  museums  existing  in 
their  midst.  ^ 

In  couchisiou,  the  fact  milst  be  admitted  that  in  thisKeport  it 
has  been  impossible  to  present  anything  like  a  complete  state- 
ment of  the  facts  brought  out  and  noted  down  in  the  course 
of  the  investigations  made  before  writing  it ;  but  probably 
enough  has  been  written  to  prove  the  great  value  of  the 
institutions  that  the  Austrian  authorities  sought  to  illustrate 
at  their  recent  grand  World's  Fair,  and  to  show  the  beneficial 
effects  produced  wherever  they  exist,  upon  the  industries  of 
the  country,  and  in  the  general  education  aud  improvement 
in  art  and  taste  of  the  whole  people. 

One  fact  is  proven,  standiug  firm  as  a  rock,  by  the  united 
testimony  of  all  the  European  savants,  who  claim  to  speak 
with  authority  on  this  subject ;  that  is,  that  if  any  improve- 
ment is  to  take  place  in  the  Art-Industry  of  the  country,  it 
must  come  from  the  better  education  of  the  people  in  Art,  and 
this  must  commence  with  popular  instruction  in  free-hand 
drawing.  It  is  also  shown  that  such  knowledge  as  is  imbibed 
at  the  Drawing  School,  the  Technical  Educational  Class,  Art- 
Gallery,  and  the  Art-Industry  Museum,  educates  men  to  feel 
more  interest  in  their  work ;  that  new  methods  of  doing  old- 
time  work  suggest  themselves  to  the  man  who  has  been 
taught  in  the  principles  upon  which  the  success  of  his  work 
depends  ;  and  finally  that  a  vast  innDrovement  can  rapidly  be 
brought  about  by  earnest  work,  even  though  it  be  true  that — 

"  So  slow  is 
The  growth  of  what  is  excellent — so  hard 
To  attain  perfection  in  this  nether  world." 

LOUIS  J.  HINTON. 


REPOET    or   MR.    MILLETT.  157 


FINE  AETS  OF  THE  PEESENT  TIME. 


Geoup    XXV.— paintings    AND    SCULPTURE. 
By  F.  D.  MILLETT. 


It  was  the  original  intention  of  the  Directors  of  the  Vienna. 
Exposition  to  invest  the  Art  Department  with  a  character  not 
unlike  that  of  the  annual  exhi])itions  held  in  almost  every 
large  city  in  Europe,  and  to  assemble  at  Yienua  pictures  from 
every  country,  which  would  represent  the  art  of  the  present 
day,  and  indicate  the  artistic  development  of  the  world  within 
the  last  decade.  In  a  very  mild  degree  was  this  plan  fol- 
lowed, and  instead  of  an  exhibition  we  had  a  museum ;  and 
the  distinction  is  a  strong  one.  An  exhibition  proves  what 
the  artists  of  the  present  generation  can  do  ;  a  museum  shows 
what  artists  have  done,  and  is  a  collection,  of  superior  or 
curious  specimens  of  art,  made  up  regardless  of  the  date  of 
production.  A  large  proportion  of  the  pictures  were  from 
state  museums  and  private  galleries,  and  comparatively  few 
came  from  the  studios.  In  consequence  of  this  method  of 
filling  the  halls,  the  display  offered  much  less  advantage  for 
the  study  of  the  tendencies  of  art  in  the  present  generation, 
than  was  confidently  prophesied  by  the  managers  and  ex- 
pected by  'the  public.  The  reasons  for  this  change  in  the 
composition  of  the  art  department  are  numerous.  Some  are 
based  upon  the  inharmonious  relations  existing  between  the 
artists  and  the  selecting  committees,  in  which  case  the  art- 
treasures  of  the  government  were  drawn  upon  to  secure  ma- 
terial for  a  worthy  representation  of  the  country,  and  other 
causes  are  found  in  the  poverty  of  the  inducements  held  out 
to   artists,  in   comparison  with   those    of  local   exhibitions, 


158  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA, 

where  the  clisthictious  to  be  acqiured  were  quite  as  high,  and 
the  pecuniary  gains  much  more  promising.  In  its  character 
of  museum,  the  art  department  was  one  of  the  grandest  dis- 
plays of  the  century,  and  after  the  elimination  of  the  works 
which,  from  their  miiversally  recognized  merits,  serve  as 
models  for  the  direction  and  instruction  of  artists  of  to-day, 
enough  remains  in  almost  every  section  to  give  a  hint  of  the 
current  of  art  in  the  country  there  represented,  and  to  sjiow 
its  capabilities,  its  tendencies,  and  its  natural  character,  if  it 
has  any.  France,  England  and  Belgium,  more  than  any  other 
countries,  borrowed  the  treasures  of  the  state  galleries  to 
grace  the  art  halls  at  Vienna,  and  Germany,  Austria,  Italy 
and  the  rest  sent  comparatively  weaker  but  more  truly  repre- 
sentative collections.* 

In  the  presence  of  as  magnificent  a  collection  of  pictures 
as  wa'fe  shown  in  Vienna,  it  can  hardly  be  denied  that  artists 
have  gained  in  at  least  one  direction,  and  that  this  progress, 
if  continued  in  the  free  and  untrammeled  course  that  art  at 
present  claims  as  its  own,  will  result  in  a  higher  development 
of  artistic  culture,  and  in  the  production  of  works  nobler  and 
purer  than  any  creations  of  the  past  two  centuries.  This 
progress  is  in  the  direction  of  expression  ;  and  in  the  refined 
subtleties  of  this  quality  of  artistic  power,  it  is  clear  to  ray 
mind  that  we  of  to-day  are  in  advance  of  any  age.  Not  that 
any  one  example  of  superior  refinement  and  truth  of  expres- 
sion can  be  produced  which  will  surpass  some  of  the  sublime 
monuments  of  the  skill  and  genius  of  the  old  masters,  but 
the  faculty  of  comprehending  and  analyzing  expression,  and 
the  facility  of  illustrating  it,  are  much  more  widely  spread 
among  artists  of  the  present  day,  than  ever  before.  And 
why  is  it,  then,  that  the  majority  of  pictures  leave  the  spec- 
tator passive  and  unimpressed?  Because  the  artists  them- 
selves, as  in  every  period  in  the  history  of  art,  too  often 
paint  with  little  or  no  sympathy  with  their  subject.     The 

*  Germany  contributed  753  paintings  and  194  statues ;  France,  664  paintings  and 
196  statues;  Austria,  436  paintings  and  198  statues;  Italy,  340  paintings  and  259 
statues ;  Belgium,  217  paintings  and  20  statues ;  Holland,  164  paintings ;  Hungary, 
112  paintings  and  27  statues ;  Switzerland,  108  paintings  and  35  statues  ;  Russia,  104 
paintings  and  44  statues;  Spain,  90  paintings  and  30  statues;  England,  72  paintings 
and  22  statues ;  Norway,  58  paintings  and  1  statue ;  Sweden,  35  paintings  and  2  stat- 
ues ;  Greece,  24  paintings  and  22  statues ;  America,  17  paintings  and  1  statue. 


EEPORT    OF   MR.    MILLETT.  159 

great  triumph  of  art  is  to  produce  in  the  spectator  feelings 
akin  to  those  experienced  by  the  artist ;  to  awaken  in  the 
depth  of  the  soul  some  passion  long  dormant ;  to  appeal  to 
the  inmost  nature  with  a  voice  that  demands  recognition,  and 
thus  to  bring  all  men  to  the  common  level  of  humanity,  en- 
dowed with  the  same  faculties,  moved  by  the  same  feelings. 
As  the  king  and  the  peasant  both  bow  to  the  same  holy  sym- 
bol, so  do  they  meet  on  the  common  ground  of  human  pas- 
sions and  feelings,  in  the  contemplation  of  a  noble  work  of 
art.  The  artist  must  remember  that  the  public  is  passive, 
and  that  it  lies  with  him  to  stir  in  its  multivalve  heart  an 
echo  of  the  passion  burning  in  his  own  breast,  or  to  strike  a 
sympathetic  chord.  The  public  cannot  be  impressed  with 
the  same  degree  of  feeling  as  that  which  excites  the  artist  to 
communicate  his  idea  throu^'h  the  medium  of  colors  or  mar- 
ble  ;  for  there  will  always  be  the  cold  barrier  of  the  material 
and  tangible  to  weaken  the  warmth  of  sympathy  between 
soul  and  soul.  Then,  for  an  artist  to  succeed  with  a  subject, 
he  must  be  so  thoroughly  possessed  with  the  idea  he  wishes 
to  represent,  that  it  penetrates  every  corner  of  his  soul,  and 
enters  into  every  thought,  until  it  becomes  a  presence  not  to 
be  escaped,  not  to  be  avoided,  until  he  has  worked  out  its 
image  on  the  canvas,  or  formed  it  in  the  clay.  Sp»ontaneous, 
impulsive  works  are  almost  always  highly  impressive,  but  the 
public  feeling  may  be  considered  as  more  inclined  to  chord 
with  the  cold  and  passionless,  and  to  be  moved  only  when 
the  impulse  is  a  vigorous  one.  The  great  and  noticeable  lack 
in  works  of  the  present  day  is  this  same  spontaneity,  which, 
in  its  overflowing  strength  and  warmth,  takes  a  form  sure  to 
impart  some  of  its  glow  to  the  spectator. 

The  peculiar  circumstances  which  controlled  the  enlistment 
of  artists  in  the  time  of  the  old  masters,  were  calculated  to 
sift  out  from  the  ranks  many  of  those  who  could  not  keep 
pace  with  the  soaring  spirit  that  inspired  the  true  artist.  The 
limitations  of  art  have  been  removed,  the  field  of  action  is 
broader  and  more  comprehensive  than  ever  before,  and  the 
qualifications  of  artists  have  diminished  with  the  increase  of 
the  branches  of  art  in  which  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  be- 
come, by  courtesy,  an  artist.  With  the  introduction  of  the 
academic  system  grew  up  a  cold,  passionless  and  formal  man- 


160  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

ner,  and  thousands,  even  in  the  present  day,  annually  learn 
the  trade  of  artist  with  the  same  ease  as  they  would  learn  to 
become  blacksmiths  or  shoemakers,  and  with  much  the  same 
idea.  While  the  true  artist  will  rarely  fail  to  find  his  way  to 
the  fountain-head,  notwithstanding'  the  enervatino;  and  with- 

'  CO 

ering  influences  of  academic  training,  an  army  of  worse  than 
mediocre  painters  and  sculptors  is  raised  up  by  this  sj^stem, 
and  their  pulseless  productions  cover  the  walls  of  our  picture 
galleries,  or  pall  upon  the  visitor  from  stilted  pedestals. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  academic 
system,  or  even  to  attempt  to  support  the  opinion  which  I 
entertain,  that  we  would  be  worse  off  without  these  institu- 
tions, for  this  argument  would  occupy  a  great  deal  of  space, 
and  the  simple  statement  that  all  academies  are  rapidly 
acquiring  the  character  oL  the  old  studio  system,  and  are 
developing  individuality  and  encouraging  originality,  is  enough 
to  answer  the  most  valid  objections  to  them. 

Another  tendency  in  art  has  a  double  signification.  This 
is  the  admiration  for  truth  of  tone  which  is  happily  gaining 
ground  among  painters.  In  a  material  sense,  truth  of  tone 
adds  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  work  as  a  mechanical  produc- 
tion, and,  in  a  higher  sense,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
perfect  expression  of  an  idea  in  painting.  Examples  of  the 
perfect  harmony  of  tone  with  the  sentiment  expressed  will  be 
found  by  no  means  rarely  in  the  review  which  follows. 
Black  and  white  illustrations  do  not  impress  to  the  same  de- 
gree with  paintings,  and  when  falsities  of  tone  prevail  in  a 
picture,  to  the  sensitive  eye  the  force  of  color  is  nullified, 
and  the  idea  might  have  been  better  expressed  by  a  photo- 
graph or  a  print. 

The  great  characteristic  of  French  art  is  its  impressibility, 
and  by  this  quality  alone  it  ranks  above  every  other  national 
art,  or  school,  or  whatever  it  may  be  called.  The  French 
are  more  truly  artistic  by  nature  than  their  contemporaries, 
and  their  capability  of  seizing  the  salient  points  of  a  subject, 
the  characterizing  lines  of  the  expression  of  any  idea,  no 
matter,  how  trivial,  is  beyond  dispute.  Endowed  with  these 
high  artistic  faculties,  and  enjojdng  the  advantages  of  an 
art-education  superior  to  those  offered  by  any  other  •  coun- 
try, it  is  not  surprising  that  French  art  takes  the  lead.     As 


REPOET    OF   ME.    MILLETT.  161 

we  find  the  most  brutal  and  disgusting  vices  go  hand  in  hand 
Avith  the  highest  efforts  of  civilization,  so,  joined  with  these 
superior  powers  and  rare  capabilities,  we  meet  with  the  most 
ignoble  creations  and  worthless  trivialities,  often  in  the  garb 
of  masterly  execution, — an  incongruity  rarely  found  outside 
the  ranks  of  the  French  artists. 

Perhaps  the  most  discouraging  feature  of  their  art  is  the 
persistent  illustration,  so  generally  indulged  in,  of  woman, 
as  she  is  understood  in  Paris.  A  French  artist  poses  his 
mistress  and  paints  her,  and  all  the  world  recognizes  her  in 
the  picture.  There  is  no  spark  of  sympathy  for  the  beauty 
of  line,  the  charm  of  texture,  the  invisible  vesture  of  chastity. 
The  nude  is  painted  for  the  satisfaction  it  gives  this  ftilse 
society  of  gazing  upon  it,  and  to  supply  the  demand  the  art- 
ists paint  it.  In  the  French  art  department  at  Vienna,  the 
walls  glared  at  the  visitor  on  all  sides  with  nude  forms,  nearly 
all  painted  in  a  cold,  impassive  manner,  or  invested  with  the 
spirit  of  unblushing  wantonness,  worthy  only  to  be  turned 
face  to  the  wall  or  to  fill  a  corner  in  some  maison  dork. 
Among  all  this  abundance  of  nudity,  scarcely  a  single  figure 
could  be  pointed  out  that  charmed  with  its  color  or  texture, 
and  but  one  or  two  attracted  by  a  refined  beauty  of  line 
or  form.  The  highest  efibrt  of  artistic  execution  is  the 
representation  of  the  texture  and  color  of  human  flesh  and 
the  imitation  of  its  forms.  The  French  fail  signally  in  the 
former,  and  are  not  irreproachable  in  the  latter  acquirement. 
Rubens'  portrait  of  Helen  Forman  possesses  these  distin- 
guished beauties  of  flesh  painting,  more  than  any  other  work 
that  has  come  under  my  notice,  and,  while  painted  with  a 
bewitching  voluptuousness  of  color,  and  drawn  with  this 
master's  well  known  ahandon,  it  is  a  marvel  of  chastity  and 
delicacy.  It  is  by  comparing  this  picture  with  the  tortured 
poses  of  the  French  nude  figures,  that  we  see  in  what  con- 
sists the  charm  of  the  master's  work,  and  the  weakness  of  the 
modern  productions.  Rubens  was  inspired  by  the  tenderness 
of  his  love,  by  his  passionate  admiration  for  the  beauty  of 
his  young  wife,  and  perfect  faith  in  her  purity,  to  immortalize 
her  in  all  her  chaste  loveliness.  Similar  inspirations  do  not 
often  possess  the  breast  of  the  modern  French  artist ;  he 
either  constructs  some  group  of  nude  figures,  in  irreproach- 


162  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

able  truth  of  contour  and  foreshortening,  to  all  appearances 
simply  to  prove  his  knowledge  of  the  proportions  and  anat- 
omy of  the  human  form,  or  else  he  is  inspired  by  the  un- 
blushing boldness  of  his  model,  and  he  paints  her  in  a  man- 
ner to  cause  the  spectator  to  blush  in  her  stead.  When,  by 
chance,  the  artist  has  a  conception  of  the  beauty  of  the  form, 
and  gives  us  something  passably  attractive,  he  seldom  unites 
with  it  a  power  to  represent  other  and  equally  high  attributes 
of  human  tlesh,  the  surpassing  richness  and  depth  of  color, 
delicacy  and  variety  of  tones,  and  the  reiined  and  velvety 
texture  !  In  a  word,  successful  flesh  painters  are  uncommon 
among  the  French.  With  this  general  desire  to  paint  the 
nude  is  joined  often  another  equally  unhealthy  aspiration, 
hardly  to  be  qualified  by  one  word.  By  this  latter  impulse 
the  artist  is  prompted  to  seek  the  extreme  vigor  of  action, 
w^hich  renders  his  figures  highly  dramatic,  and  forces  the  sen- 
timent to  an  obtrusive  and  unpleasant  degree.  This  heat  of 
dramatic  power  often  finds  refuge  in  the  wdldly  outstretched 
arm,  in  the  rigid  straightening  of  the  limbs,  or  in  the  sweep 
of  the  longest  line  in  the  body,  from  the  foot  to  the  tip  of  the 
extended  hand.  A  glance  at  the  walls  of  the  French  depart- 
ment revealed  many  of  these  tortured  poses,  each  quite  as 
significant  as  the  other,  and  the  sum-total  hardly  worth  the 
mention. 

The  peasant  painters  of  France,  of  whom  Jules  Breton  and 
Jean  Francois  Millet  are  the  strongest  examples,  occupy  a 
sphere  of  labor  which  demands  the  most  acute  perception  of 
all  that  is  noble  and  poetical  in  the  simple  and  unassuming 
rustic  and  his  surroundings,  and  a  deep,  unchanging  sym- 
pathy with  him,  his  life,  and  his  inmost  feeling.  Both  of 
these  artists — peasants  in  the  simplicity  of  their  natures,  as 
well  as  by  birth  and  a  life-long  residence  among  these  people — 
love  their  neighbors  with  all  the  tenderness  of  brothers,  and 
paint  them  with  a  fervent  admiration  for  their  honest,  manly 
traits,  and  a  feeling  for  the  poetical  current  in  their  lives,  that 
give  to  their  pictures  the  stamp  of  an  impressive  seriousness 
of  purpose,  a  harmonious  rythm  of  sentiment  and  execution, 
and  make  them  pastoral  poems,  marking  the  artist  as  a  true 
poet. 

Jules  Breton's  Blessing  the  Harvest,  from  the  Luxembourg 


REPORT    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  163 

palace,  is  a  work  of  great  power,  displaying  a  grand  unity  of 
conception  and  singleness  of  purpose,  added  to  a  forcible  and 
masculine  execution.  The  scene  is  a  common  one  in  the 
rural  districts  of  France.  The  procession  of  the  church 
officials  and  state  dignitaries  is  passing  through  the  fields  to 
invoke  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  ripening  grain.  The 
aged  priest,  bearing  the  holy  symbol,  is  preceded  by  maidens 
dressed  in  white,  carrying  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  and  is 
accompanied  by  the  flower-bearers  and  the  censor-swingers. 
Behind  march  the  pious  villagers,  with  uncovered  heads,  and 
on  every  side  kneel  the  peasants,  in  humble  adoration.  The 
strong  sunlight  shimmers  over  the  tops  of  the  yellow  grain, 
plays  upon  the  rich  trappings  and  gaudy  vestments,  touches 
the  white  robes  with  streaks  of  warm  light,  and  twinkles 
everywhere,  in  the  clouds,  in  the  distant  village,  and  in  the 
landscape,  seeming  to  difi'use  with  its  warm  glow  the  feeling 
of  respectful  quiet  and  solemnity,  when  even  the  notes  of  the 
birds  are  hushed  in  the  presence  of  the  sacred  ceremony. 
The  types  of  the  peasants  are  unafi'ected  but  true,  and  their 
actions  unconsciously  given.  Observe  with  what  skill  the 
perspective  values  of  the  tones  are  secured,  so  that  the  long 
row  of  figures  is  neither  monotonous  nor  tortured,  and  the 
landscape  and  the  groups  are  united  to  form  an  ensemble, 
with  the  interest  centred  in  the  principal  actors.  No  figure 
is  superfluous,  each  sustains  his  role,  and  all  are  possessed 
with  the  same  idea. 

Another  picture  is  The  Fountain,  in  which  two  peasant 
girls  fill  their  jars  at  the  spring,  in  the  twilight.  Their  poses 
are  full  of  natural  grace,  their  actions  simple  and  true,  and 
above  all,  the  deep,  rich  tone  of  the  fading  light  is  so  faith- 
fully given,  that  the  spectator  feels  the  growing  coolness  and 
the  mysterious  quiet  of  the  falling  night  stealing  upon  the 
scene.  Similarly  inspired  is  the  Return  from  the  Fields, 
with  troops  of  gleaners  strolling  home  in  the  twilight ;  and 
another,  with  three  girls,  with  interlocked  arms,  walking 
home  through  the  fields,  sharing  their  simple  confidences 
with  each  other.  In  all  these  pictures  there  is  no  obtrusive- 
ness,  either  in  the  sentiment  or  the  execution,  and  they 
appeal  to  every  one  alike,  requiring  no  initiation  into  the 


164  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

mysteries  of  art  to  recognize  their  superior  qualities  of 
expression  and  color. 

Millet  is  of  a  deeper  poetical  nature  than  Breton ,  and  while 
his  peasants  are  all  true  to  the  life,  he  clothes  them,  as  he 
does  the  commonest  object  he  represents,  with  a  poetical 
sentiment  that  transfigures  the  coarse  garments  and  the  ugly 
features,  and  we  see  the  peasant  through  the  eyes  of  the 
artist.  The  simple  incidents  of  their  history  become  stanzas 
of  a  life-long  pastoral  which  it  is  the  loving  work  of  the  poet- 
artist  to  perfect.  Millet  was  represented  but  by  two  pictures  : 
The  8ower,  and  Death  and  the  Woodcutter.  As  in  all  his 
works,  the  charm  of  simplicity  was  grandly  present  in  both 
of  these.  The  former  is  a  single  figure  in  the  shadow  of  a 
hillside,  scattering  the  grain  with  a  swinging  stride,  and  in 
the  sunlight,  a  laborer  with  his  team,  harrowing.  The  breadth 
of  effect,  the  perfect  action  of  the  figure,  and  the  depth  and 
richness  of  the  color,  all  point  to  the  sincerity  of  the  artist 
and  to  his  unafiected  sympathy  with  the  subject.  In  the 
second  picture,  the  skeleton  with  scythe  and  hour-glass,  its 
hideous  form  covered  Avith  a  winding  sheet,  stretches  out 
a  bony  hand  to  grasp  the  trembling  rustic,  who  crouches 
in  dread  beside  his  bundle  of  faggots.  The  figure  is  draped 
with  wonderful  skill,  the  expression  of  the  pose  masterly,  and 
the  color  of  bewitching  refinement. 

Bougnereau  is  a  peasant  painter  by  name,  though  not  by 
sympathy.  He  is  inspired  by  the  exterior  of  a  peasant  life, 
and  by  the  less  picturesque  side  of  it.  With  all  the  skill  of 
a  modiste  and  a  hairdresser,  he  combines  costumes  and  coif- 
fures, and  paints  his  subjects  Avith  great  care  and  a  minute 
attention  to  details  of  form  and  color,  without  grasping  the 
decisive  character  of  either.  His  actors  are  always  soulless, 
and  their  waxen  faces  bear  no  impress  of  individuality,  one 
being  the  counterpart  of  the  other  in  expressionless  perfection 
of  contour.  This  artist  exposed  several  large  pictures,  and 
with  his  pupil,  Perrault,  represented  a  certain  class  of  painters 
whose  chief  qualification  lies  in  an  undeniable  facility  of 
execution. 

Bonnat's  subjects  are  not  altogether  wanting  in  human 
interest,  and  he  paints  with  a  strong  hand.  For  example,  his 
Italia  is  charming  in  expression  of  naive  merriment  in  the 


EEPORT    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  165 

face  of  the  child,  hugging  its  mother  with  impulsive  affection  ; 
a  little  crude,  but  not  altogether  unpleasant  in  color.  Cabanel 
triumphs  with  his  crayon  in  perfecting  his  lines,  shows  great 
facility  in  a  certain  weak  manner  of  execution  in  which  he 
appears  to  have  set  his  palette  with  onion  skins,  and  his 
sentiment  always  remains  a  long  distance  behind  his  skill. 
With  him,  artfully  posed  and  perfectly  draped  figures  con- 
stitute all  worth  striving  for,  and  as  in  his  Francesca  di 
Riinini,  you  iind  perfectly  imitated  stuffs,  irreproachable  con- 
tours, and  not  a  note  struck  in  the  melody  of  the  human 
heart.  His  Triumyh  of  Flora^  painted  for  the  Louvre,  was 
exposed  in  the  Salon  dJ'Honneur.  Its  greatest  merit  was  its 
size,  if  that  be  a  merit.  His  portraits  are  as  feelingless  as 
his  skilfully  arranged  and  well  posed  groups. 

If,  for  a  moment,  I  turn  to  the  portraitists,  I  must  rank 
Carolus  Duran  among  the  class  who  bow  down  to  the  power 
of  execution,  and  are  artists  with  their  fingers  but  not  with 
their  brains.  He  contributed  three  very  dazzling  full-length 
portaits  of  ladies  in  rich  costumes.  They  are  posed  with 
skill,  and  painted  with  much  nerve  and  swing,  but  speak  only 
as  portraits  of  costume  ;  for  the  faces  are  subordinate  to  every- 
thing else.  Without  grace,  and  with  little  more  than  rude 
dramatic  effect,  the  portraits  shock  from  their  harsh  opposi- 
tions of  tones  and  general  poverty  of  color,  though  painted 
with  all  the  richness  of  M.  Duran's  rather  meagre  palette. 

There  were,  as  I  have  said,  many  examples  of  the  nude, 
without  exception  perversely  opposed  to  any  ideas  of  delicacy 
of  sentiment  or  power  of  execution.  Among  these  were 
found  several  by  Lefebure,  for  the  most  part  finely  drawn ; — 
and  all  is  said.  Contrasting  strongly  with  these  trivialities,  a 
large  number  of  the  works  of  the  late  Delacroix,  stand  promi- 
nently forth.  All  deliciously  rich  in  color,  strong  in  tone, 
and  full  of  delicate  sentiment,  they  serve  as  a  sort  of  land- 
mark to  guide  us  in  our  review  of  the  twenty  years  since  they 
were  painted.  A  wan,  haggard,  savage  woman,  with  her  new- 
born babe,  a  tale  of  suffering  on  the  mother's  features,  and 
sympathetic  lines  in  the  wild  face  of  the  father  kneeling  by 
her  side  ;  a  lion  tearing  his  prey,  all  bloody  and  mangled  ; 
biblical  and  historical  scenes  :  all  are  treated  with  like  feeling; 


166  EXPOSITION   AT   VIEXXA. 

and  characterized  b}^  a  depth  and  wealth  of  color,  little  in 
keeping  with  the  faulty  execution. 

Yery  rich  and  varied  in  color  are  the  pictures  of  Isabey, 
of  which  he  exposed  several.  Hardly  more  than  sug- 
gestions of  pictures,  Yery  sketchy,  the  figures  forming 
themselves  out  of  an  apparently  confused  mass  of  lines 
and  blotches  of  color,  few  contours,  no  attempt  at  finish, 
the  pictures  are  nevertheless  full  of  interest.  The  forms 
are  suggested  with  a  vigorous  touch,  and  the  action  strong 
and  well  understood.  For  an  example  of  the  whole, 
take  one  of  the  long,  narrow  panels.  It  is  Breal:fast  in  the 
Forest.  The  lords  and  ladies  in  their  most  brilliant  dress, 
hobnob  at  a  table  on  the  left,  cooks  and  scullions  stagger 
under  the  weight  of  steaming  dishes  or  huge  pots  of  food. 
In  the  centre,  the  fire,  with  the  fat  attendants,  and  to  the  right, 
the  esquires  and  servants  drink  and  carouse  in  their  boister- 
ous way.  All  is  movement  and  stir ;  the  woods  are  full  of 
figures,  and  brilliant  costumes,  shining  armor,  the  blaze  of 
the  fire  reflected  on  polished  dishes,  the  foliage  and  all  the 
beauties  of  the  forest  make  the  picture  a  bouquet  of  rich 
color.  Isabey's  figures  are  so  small  that  there  is  a  temptation 
to  class  him  among  the  liliputian  painters ;  but  he  pays  so 
little  attention  to  detail  that  his  characters  are  grand  in  their 
breadth  and  vigorous  action. 

With  Gerome,  who  was  represented  by  some  of  his  best 
works,  size  does  not  alwaj^s  remain  a  necessary  attribute  of 
his  productions,  but  he  is  always  best  seen  when  his  figures 
do  not  exceed  a  certain  very  small  stature.  His  Slave  Market, 
a  life-size  picture,  a  sort  of  studio  combination  of  a  naked  girl, 
a  crouching  negro,  a  parrot  and  a  few  accessories,  has  little 
to  recommend  it.  Then  there  were  also  shown  one  or  two 
rather  hideous  subjects,  where  decapitated  heads  and  cold- 
blooded guards  told  some  story  of  Eastern  barbarity.  Finished 
with  more  than  photographic  nicety,  the  details  are  rendered 
with  such  exactness,  that  you  are  almost  sure  that  there  is 
a  minvAinre  2^orte-monnaie  in  the  pocket  of  each  of  the  diminu- 
tive personages.  There  is,  nevertheless,  a  skill  in  composi- 
tion, a  knowledge  of  costume  and  antiquities,  a  considerable 
truth  of  expression  and  strength  of  color  that  pleases.     While 


EEPOET    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  167 

the  pictures  do,  like  Meissonier's,  impress  one  more  l3y 
the  skill  sliowii  in  their  execution  than  for  the  ideas  they 
illustrate,  there  remains  often  much  to  admire  outside  this 
material  qualification,  and  we  find  occasional  passages  of 
honest,  spontaneous  feeling.  The  best  one  of  the  pictures 
shown  was  the  Gladiators.  The  multitude  of  spectators 
crowding  the  benches  of  the  arena  are  impatiently  awaiting 
the  final  act  of  the  tragedy  passing  before  their  eyes.  In  the 
foreground,  with  one  foot  on  the  throat  of  his  vanquished 
opponent,  stands  a  gladiator,  half  naked,  half  in  armor,  turn- 
ing to  the  imperial  box  for  the  unfavorable  verdict  of  the 
thumbs.  The  courtesans  give  their  vote  with  ferocity,  and 
shout  for  the  death  of  the  conquered,  while  the  emperor, 
almost  helpless  in  his  obesity,  listlessly  eats  a  fig.  Through 
the  awning  come  streaks  of  sunlight,  which  straggle  over  the 
arena  and  the  crowds  of  spectators,  and  beam  in  a  mass  in 
the  background.  This  eJffect  is  especially  well  managed. 
Another  picture  is  an  Arab  supporting  the  head  of  his  horse 
dying  in  the  desert ; — a  bit  of  sentiment,  finely  executed. 

Meissonier  neither  can  be  classed  with  Gerome,  or  be  said 
to  be  totally  diiferent  from  him.  He  paints  on  a  smaller  scale, 
with  less  detail,  and  manages  to  give  a  great  deal  of  breadth 
in  a  very  small  space.  He  exposed  a  number  of  small 
panels, — a  soldier  or  two  under  a  white  wall,  a  group  of 
cavalry,  an  interior  with  figures,  neither  impressive,  and  all 
well  done, — and  the  the  most  eloquent  picture  I  have  seen 
from  his  hand,  1807,  a  cavalry  charge.  Napoleon  and  his 
stafif  are  seen  on  an  eminence  in  the  background,  and,  sweep- 
ing across  the  front,  is  a  squadron  of  cavalry  led  to  the  charge, 
every  man  saluting  his  chief  with  an  enthusiastic  swing  of  the 
sabre.  The  horses  are  unfinished ;  in  fact,  the  whole  fore- 
ground is  but  an  ebaucJie,  yet  there  is  a  dash  and  vigor  in  all 
the  movements,  a  free  and  unconventional  action  in  the  horses 
that  is  rarely  equalled.  Certainly  the  charm  of  Meissonier's 
pictures  is  in  something  more  than  their  liliputian  size. 

Perhaps  the  finest  figures  in  full  action  were  shown  by 
Boulenger ; — three  Kabyles  pursued  by  French  scouts,  the 
fourth  just  rolled  over  by  a  ball  from  the  gun  of  the  foremost 
soldier.  The  dark-skinned,  half-naked  natives,  rush  down 
the  steep  hillside  with  swinging  arms  and  vigorous  stride ;  one 


168  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

only,  with  a  veiy  natural  movement,  turns  his  head  to  watch 
the  pursuers  just  appearing  over  the  brow  of  the  hill.  The 
action  is  full  of  life  and  perfectly  expressive.  Side  by  side 
with  this  manl}^  honest  work,  hung  several  prettily  painted, 
feebl}^  conceived  scenes  with  Pompeian  women,  posed  and 
grouped  and  expressing  nothing.  One  would  hardly  believe 
them  to  be  by  the  same  artist. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  discuss  whether  it  is  the  province 
of  art  to  deal  with  metaphysical,  psycological  or  philosophical 
questions,  but  I  will  salute  in  passing,  a  volume  of  satire  by 
Glaize,  which  he  calls  The  Spectacle  of  Human  Madness.  He 
has  represented  four  scenes  :  the  biblical  massacres,  the  Chris- 
tian martyrs,  the  heretics  and  the  slaughters  in  the  French 
Revolution,  and  has  given  them  all  as  if  he  painted  on  a  pano- 
rama, while  the  artist  himself,  with  an  anxious  look  and  half 
apologetical  shrug,  stands  on  the  stage  in  front  to  explain  the 
illustrations. 

Few -portraits  were  shown,  possibly  because  there  were  few 
good  ones  to  send.  Nelie  Jacquemart  exposed  by  far  the 
best  and  much  the  larger  number  of  heads.  With  an  almost 
too  rigid  observance  of  actualities,  she  joins  a  delicate  sense 
of  color,  a  love  for  harmony  and  a  great  facility  for  executing 
with  remarkable  precision  of  line  and  relief  of  form.  Occa- 
sionally the  portraits  are  somewhat  labored,  but  she  enters  so 
well  into  the  life  of  the  personages  she  portrays,  that  one  can 
make  their  acquaintance  from  her  portrait  of  them.  Con- 
trasted with  Carolus  Duran,  Mile.  Jacquemart  gains  by  the 
unaffected  simplicity  and  natural  movement  in  the  poses,  and 
a  far  greater  capability  of  suggesting  the  fleeting  expressions 
of  her  sitters,  beside  being  undeniably  the  better  colorist. 
Henri  Reguault,  one  of  the  most  promising  of  the  young 
French  artists,  unfortunately  killed  at  the  battle  of  Buzeuval, 
January  9,  1871,  may  be  ranked  among  the  portraitists  for 
his  equestrian  portrait  of  General  Prim,  if  for  no  other  attempt 
of  the  kind.  The  General  is  seated  on  a  black  horse,  settling 
into  the  saddle  with  a  very  natural  movement  as  he  reins 
up  the  charger  and  faces  to  the  front.  The  animal,  though 
strongly  touched,  is  too  evidently  from  a  photograph,  with  the 
exaggerated  perspective  of  the  hind  quarters  and  the  magnified 
head  and  neck  which  almost  dwarf  the  rider.     The  background 


EEPORT    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  169 

is  compiised  of  rolling  clouds  of  smoke,  waving  banners  and 
enthusiastic  soldiers,  admirably  relieving  the  figures  of  the 
horse  and  man,  and  eloquently  significant  of  the  General's  wild 
and  stormy  career.  Regnault's  Execution  in  a  Moorish  Palace, 
with  the  ghastly  head  and  bleeding  trunk,  is  too  dramatic 
and  tricky  to  be  considered  first-class  art,  but  the  figure  of 
the  stalwart  executioner  carelessly  wiping  the  sword,  is  boldly 
posed  and  strongly  drawn. 

Of  the  superior  excellence  of  French  landscapes  shown  in 
the  Exposition  there  can  be  little  question,  and  they  were 
varied  enough  in  character  to  show  the  adaptability  of  the 
French  artistic  nature  to  this  sort  of  work,  with  high  at- 
tainments in  every  direction  of  procedure.  From  the  broad 
and  free  treatment  of  Corot  to  the  minutely  finished  and  some- 
what formal  realism  of  Robinet,  there  was  every  grade  and 
good  specimens  of  each.  A  large  number  of  admirable  ex- 
amples of  Rousseau  were  exposed,  all  of  them  of  a  fruity 
juiceness  of  color  and  strong  effect.  Rousseau  gives  more 
than  any  other  artist  the  exact  meteorological  conditions  of  the 
atmosphere  and  the  associated  effects  in  perspective,  aerial  and 
terrestrial.  The  many  twinkling  trees,  with  their  opaque 
masses  of  foliage,  the  deep  rich  shadows  and  the  broad  strong 
opposition  with  the  sky,  and  above  all,  the  mysterious,  inde- 
finable play  of  the  sunlight,  repeated  and  reflected  every- 
where ; — all  this  is  found  to  perfection  in  his  works.  Of  a 
simple  line  of  meadow,  with  a  clump  of  trees  against  the  sky, 
he  makes  a  picture  full  of  interest,  representing  nature  in  her 
most  delicate  phases,  impressing  from  richness  and  variety  of 
color,  grand  oppositions  and  wonderful  suggestions  of  nature 
as  she  is  found.  The  most  striking  of  the  pictures  shown  was 
a  motive  on  the  border  of  the  forest  of  Fontainbleau.  Grand 
masses  of  trees  on  either  side,  marshy  ground  between,  a 
plain  beyond,  the  sky  full  of  flaky  clouds,  and  all  bathed 
in  strong  sunlight  which  gilds,  defines  and  mystifies  in  a 
thousand  ways. 

Corot,  on  the  other  hand,  impresses  from  his  depth  of  feel- 
ing for  the  subtle  charms  of  nature  seen  from  a  different  point 
of  view.  He  suggests  the  grand  features  of  the  landscape, 
infuses  his  picture  with  the  one  great  solemn  beauty  of  nature, 
and  leaves  it  to  the  imagination  to  supply  what,  in  the  enthu- 

22 


170  EXPOSITIOX   AT   VIENNA. 

siasm  of  his  love  for  nature  as  she  moves  him,  he  forgets  to 
detail.  The  grandest  artistic  efforts  are  not  the  most  complex 
ones,  and  in  the  noblest  strains  of  poetry  is  found  a  heroic 
simplicity  which  dignifies  the  verse  and  is  more  eloquent  than 
volumes  of  detail.  Corot's  individuality  and  his  poetical  sym- 
pathy with  nature  are  illustrated  by  his  smallest  works,  and, 
although  he  sometimes  falls  into  a  careless  treatment  and 
frequent  repetition,  the  same  conception  of  the  subtleties  of 
nature's  charms  is  always  prominently  displayed  in  the  loving 
and  impulsive  manner  in  which  they  are  rendered. 

Nature's  more  positive  moods  are  successfully  represented 
by  Emile  Breton,  who  chooses  the  mournful  aspect  of  the 
landscape,  in  the  autumn  or  winter,  and  very  sympathetically 
illustrates  it.  He  exposed  an  Evening  in  Winter,  with  snow- 
covered  earth,  and  trees,  and  a  chill  light,  in  harmony  with 
the  season.  Much  feeling  for  like  phases  of  nature,  and  a 
strong,  free  touch,  with  a  well-trained  eye  for  oppositions  of 
tone, — these  are  his  characteristics.  Daubigny  was  repre- 
sented by  but  two  canvases,  neither  strong  examples  of  his 
power.  Frangais  was  also  but  feebly  seen.  A  nook  in  the 
forest,  with  impenetrable  hedge  of  foliage,  and  well-grouped 
trees,  skilfully  managed  light,  and  Daphnis  and  Chloe  in  mu- 
tual embrace  in  the  solitude  of  the  beautiful  glen,  rather 
scenic  in  effect,  and  a  trifle  harsh  in  tone, — this  is  one  of  his 
pictures.  The  other — a  scene  in  Pompeii,  with  the  laborers 
among  the  ruins — is  much  better  felt,  and  has  a  delicious 
glow  of  light  in  it.  Eobinet  finds  a  year's  study  in  the  grav- 
elly bed  of  a  stream,  rough  bowlders,  and  a  clump  of  trees. 
The  smallest  pebble,  and  the  irregularities  of  each,  are  painted 
with  microscopic  fidelity,  and,  though  the  light  is  sometimes 
harsh,  the  general  effect  is  often  good.  In  several  pictures 
shown,  it  was  wonderful  to  observe  the  perfection  of  texture 
and  minute  finish,  and  withal  a  very  perfect  subordination  of 
the  detail  to  the  mass.  One  feels,  in  the  contemplation  of 
these  and  similar  pictures,  wonder  at  the  infinite  patience, 
more  than  admiration  for  the  illustration  of  any  one  of  the 
myriad  of  nature's  expressions. 

Of  the  animal  paintings,  Troyon's  works  were  almost  the 
only  ones  claiming  attention,  and  my  admiration  for  the  un- 
equalled power  of  this  master  finds  satisfaction  in  none  of  the 


EEPOET    OF    ME.    MILLETT.  171 

ordinary  formulfe  of  praise.  His  pictures  are  models  of  a 
vigorous  handling,  strength  of  tone,  and  above  all  reproach 
of  indecision  of  drawing  or  meagreness  in  any  direction.  A 
group  of  cattle  and  sheep  under  the  trees  ;  a  simple  motive, 
and  a  canvas  of  limited  size ;  but  no  further  example  is 
needed  to  show  the  master  in  all  his  masculine  strength. 
The  tree  trunks  are  marvels  of  fatness ;  the  foliage  is  a 
wealth  of  fine  tones  ;  and  the  broad  side  of  the  red  cow  in 
the  light  is  as  rich  and  varied  as  a  Turkish  carpet.  In  the 
whole  dej)artment  there  was  found  scarcely  an  echo  of  the 
richness  of  color  and  vigorous  strength  of  tone  seen  in 
Troyon's  pictures. 

In  this  somewhat  categorical  review  of  French  art,  as  seen 
at  Vienna,  I  have  endeavored  to  give  an  idea  of  the  distinc- 
tive characteristics  of  the  various  classes  of  artists,  and  my 
opinion  concerning  the  school  as  a  whole  is  elsewhere  ex- 
pressed. Several  well-known  names  will  be  missed  from  my 
list,  no  doubt.  Difficulties  arising  between  the  selecting 
committee  and  the  artists,  analogous  to  those  experienced  in 
our  own  country,  a  want  of  harmony  between  these  parties, 
induced  even  by  political  feeling,  resulted  in  the  refusal  to 
exhibit  by  more  than  one  famous  painter. 

The  Spanish  school  has  so  many  of  the  French  elements  in 
it,  and  the  pictures  shown  in  the  exposition  were  so  evidently 
influenced  in  their  conception  and  treatment  by  French  ideas, 
that  this  department  properly  follows  the  one  just  described. 
The  general  aspect  of  the  small  room  that  contained  the 
Spanish  pictures  was  unfavorable.  The  walls  were  hung 
high  with  large  canvases,  illustrating  religious  subjects, 
treated  with  the  worst  conventionalism,  or  indifi'erently  suc- 
cessful attempts  at  historical  pictures.  There  was,  however, 
a  rich  tone  of  general  color,  an  impress  of  a  warmer  sun  and 
more  impulsive  nature  evident  in  most  of  the  Avorks.  Two 
portraits,  by  Navarre  and  Rodriguez  resj)ectively,  both  of 
sitters  in  rich  costumes,  and  equally  inspired  by  the  lustre  of 
the  silk  and  the  sparkle  of  the  ornaments,  more  than  by  the 
character  of  the  head,  were  in  every  way  similar  to  the  flashy 
canvases  of  Carolus  Duran,  and  quite  as  meritorious.  These, 
with  a  few  strong  genres  by  Mauresa,  as  rich  in  color  as  a 
basket  of  Spanish  fruit,  complete  the  list  of  the  noticeable 


172  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

figure  pictures.  There  was  but  little  seriousness  of  purpose 
evinced  in  this  branch  of  the  art ;  nearly  all  the  subjects  were 
as  trivial  and  as  superficial  as  one  of  the  Spanish  love  songs. 
In  the  landscapes,  on  the  contrary,  were  displayed  a  surpris- 
ingly intimate  sympathy  with  nature,  and  a  grand  conception 
of  natural  beauty.  Urgell  and  Torrescassana  seem  both 
inspired  by  the  sublime  solitude  of  the  landscape,  where  the 
presence  of  the  human  figure  only  makes  the  solitude  the 
more  impressive.  The  former  artist  exposed  a  sea-coast 
view :  a  long  stretch  of  sand,  a  gray,  lazily-rolling  sea,  a 
cold  sky,  and  the  dimmest  vision  of  a  departing  ship  in  the 
horizon ;  a  single  figure  of  a  girl  alone  on  the  beach,  watch- 
ing the  vanishing  sail ; — this  is  all.  But  how  impressive  is 
the  maiden's  loneliness,  as  she  feels  for  the  first  time  the 
lonofius:  that  will  not  cease  until  the  sea  brino-s  back  the  loved 
one  !  A  gray  sky,  a  broad  plain,  and  a  single  row  of  trees, 
quiet,  truthful,  and  suggestive  of  one  of  the  solemn  hushes  in 
the  working  of  nature's  forces,  when  they  seem  to  pause  for 
breath  before  exciting  new  convulsions  ; — this  was  one  of 
Torrescassana's  motives,  and  the  same  feeling  inspired  a  twi- 
light scene,  with  a  simple  silhouette  of  houses  and  trees 
against  the  sky. 

The  influence  of  the  artistic  productions  of  the  Netherlands 
on  the  art  and  artists  of  every  nation,  has  always  been  dis- 
proportionate to  the  political  and  geographical  importance  of 
this  country,  and  at  the  present  day  is  as  strongly  felt  as 
ever,  though  less  generally  recognized  and  acknowledged. 
In  sculpture,  no  less  than  in  painting,  this  comparatively 
insignificant  country  has  moved  a  current  of  art  far  bej^ond 
its  conceded  strength.  The  noble  examples  of  the  famous 
masters  of  the  Netherlands  serve  as  salutary  guides  to  artistic 
progress  in  every  country  where  art  has  had  a  foothold,  and 
need  no  repetition  of  their  good  qualities  here.  Of  the 
sculpture  of  the  Netherlands  very  little  is  generally  known, 
and  there  has  been,  I  believe,  no  description  published  of  this 
extensive  and  interesting  branch  of  Dutch  art.  Probably 
few  art  connoisseurs  will  remember  that  some  of  the  most 
famous  examples  of  old  sculpture  in  Europe  are  from  the 
hands  of  artists  of  the  low  countries.  I  speak  of  Belgium 
and  Holland  collectively  as  the  Netherlands,  and  of  their  art 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    MILLETT.  173 

as  Dutch  art,  because  the  arbitrary  political  division  of  these 
two  countries  has  existed  only  for  twenty-one  years,  and  in 
art,  least  of  all,  are  they  two  countries.  I  will  not  attempt 
to  account  for  the  richness  of  color  that  is  certainly  found,  to 
an  exceptional  degree,  in  the  Netherlands,  or  to  analyze  the 
causes  that  have  developed  a  peculiar  love  for  color,  and  fat- 
ness of  tones  and  contours  in  the  native  artists  and  the  people 
at  large.  Overflowing  with  natural  spirits,  and  physically 
robust  and  hearty,  the  people — and  above  all,  the  Flemings — 
have  all  the  impulsiveness  of  children,  and  a  horror  of  every- 
thing that  is  meagre,  indecisive  and  tame.  In  the  warm 
countries,  where  the  greater  part  of  life  is  passed  out  of 
doors,  and  where  family  ties  are  weak,  and  comparatively  of 
little  importance,  the  artist  naturally  seeks  his  subjects  in 
the  creations  of  his  imagination  :  but  in  the  low  countries, 
where  a  somewhat  rigorous  climate  foi"bids  an  extended  out- 
door life,  motives  are  found  in  the  scenes  of  family  life,  the 
interiors,  and  kindred  subjects.  The  birth-place  and  home 
of  the  genre,  and  the  nursery  of  a  high  realism,  the  Nether- 
lands develops  a  class  of  artists  who  incline  more  naturally 
to  the  representation  of  positive  fact  and  simple  expression, 
than  to  the  illustration  of  the  deeper  and  more  delicate  sen- 
timents. In  point  of  execution,  they  are  in  advance  of  any 
school ;  and  in  keen  perception  of  the  beauties  of  color,  and 
in  innate  ability  to  represent  fine  distinctions  of  tone,  they 
also  take  the  lead.  Delight  in  the  charms  of  color  is,  it 
seems  to  me,  one  of  the  highest  enjoyments  of  our  nature, 
and  the  gratification  of  this  sense  is  one  of  the  noblest  aims 
of  art.  The  Netherlanders  often  impress  by  their  harmonious 
and  sympathetic  coloring,  when,  in  other  respects,  the  picture 
may  be  comparatively  expressionless.  This  element  of  judi- 
cious composition  of  color,  which  should  always  march  a  pas 
egdl  with  other,  and,  in  general,  more  popular  conditions  of 
superior  work,  is  a  salutary  one  in  the  influence  of  the  art  of 
the  Netherlands,  and  to  the  high  standard  adopted  by  this 
school  in  the  direction  of  color  and  tone  as  important  qualifi- 
cations of  artistic  execution,  all  artists  do  homage. 

That  sentiment  is  by  no  means  lacking  in  even  the  average 
productions  of  the  Belgian  and  Dutch  artists,  and  is  occasion- 
ally found  in  its  most  exalted  expression,  while,  as  a  rule, 


174  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

that  their  highest  attainments  are  in  the  sphere  of  color  and 
tone,  was  proved  by  the  extensive  display  made  by  these  two 
countries.  The  Belgian  exhibit  was  by  far  the  larger,  and 
occupied  a  number  of  rooms.  Several  of  the  works  of  the 
late  Baron  Leys  hung  in  the  annexe.  The  most  original  artist 
of  the  age,  Baron  Leys  created  a  school  which  has  taken  root 
in  all  countries  with  more  or  less  vigor,  and  is  grafted,  in 
noticeable  strength,  into  the  manner  of  numerous  artists  un- 
converted to  his  way  of  seeing  and  painting.  The  largest 
picture  shown,  and  the  one  which  represented  the  artist  best, 
and  at  his  strongest  period,  was  a  study  for  the  fresco  in  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  at  Antwerp,  Burgomaster  Launcelot  van  Ur- 
sel  haranguing  the  Militia  to  defend  the  Town  against  Martin 
van  Rossem.  The  gothic  simplicity  of  line  and  naivete  of 
pose  in  the  burgomaster  and  the  assembled  crowd  of  militia, 
the  disregard  of  all  academic  rules  of  composition,  and  above 
all,  a  deep  sympathy  with  the  character  of  the  people  por- 
trayed, joined  with  a  superlative  richness  of  color  and 
strength  of  tone — these  are  but  a  few  of  the  good  qualities  of 
this  work.  In  the  Fete  given  to  Hubens,  from  the  museum  at 
Antwerp,  painted  in  a  totally  different  style,  one  finds  less  to 
admire  in  the  somewhat  strained  effect  of  light,  and  in  the 
labored  figures.  It  recalls  Rembrandt's  Honde  de  JVuit,  in 
the  force  of  the  lights,  and  in  the  admirably  managed  shad- 
ows. A  picture  by  Baron  Leys'  most  promising  pupil,  the 
lamented  Joseph  Lies,  was  also  sent  from  the  Antwerp  Mu- 
seum, It  is  an  episode  from  one  of  the  numerous  invasions 
of  Flanders,  and  is  called  the  Apiiroach  of  the  Enemy. 
From  the  picturesque  village  in  the  distance  pours  a  motley 
train  of  peasants,  and  teams  heavily  laden  with  the  household 
goods,  and  goaded  on  by  the  reported  approach  of  the  much- 
dreaded  foe.  In  the  foreground  halts  the  advance  guard,  a 
young  lord  and  a  trusty  attendant  or  two,  with  a  score  of 
cowardly  boors,  armed  with  the  implements  that  come  first 
to  hand.  The  venerable  parson  and  his  pretty  daughter  have 
just  come  through  the  gate,  and  she  is  evidently  not  uncon- 
scious of  the  presence  of  the  handsome  young  leader  of  the 
guard.  Full  of  incident,  and  grandly  illustrating  the  char- 
acter of  the  people,  it  has  all  the  charms  of  most  beautiful 
color  besides.     Another  pupil  of  Baron  Leys,  Victor  Lagye, 


EEPOET    OF   MR.    MILLETT.  175 

who  has  assimilated  much  of  his  master's  admiration  for  the 
quality  of  tone,  exposed  three  pictures,  all  very  strong  in  this 
respect.  The  Bookworm^  a  library  interior,  with  two  fig- 
ures, is  a  marvellous  example  of  perspective  of  tone,  and 
very  strong  in  color  and  treatment.  The  Sorceress  is  less 
successful  as  a  picture,  for  the  witch  is  but  a  common-place 
model,  posed  before  a  fire,  and  very  meagrely  drawn  and 
painted,  and  the  two  visitors  who  enter  with  a  baby  are  ex- 
pressionless and  cold,  but  the  interior  is  beautifully  rendered. 
To  another  and  degenerate  class  of  followers  of  this  master, 
who  imitate  their  teacher  with  more  affinity  for  his  faults 
than  for  his  better  qualities,  belong  Frans  Vinck,  of  Ant- 
werp, and  the  two  De  Vriendts,  of  Brussels.  Vinck's  idea 
of  a  picture  is  a  row  of  poses  jplastiques,  before  a  flat  and 
obtrusive  background  of  Antwerp  architecture.  He  calls  it 
Sortie  (Tune  Eglise,  L' entree  joyeuse  cVun  Roi  du  Tir — you 
may  call  it  what  you  will,  and  be  sure  of  a  fit.  When  he 
sings  of  love,  it  is  a  Belgian  soldier  with  a  nursery-maid,  and 
the  sly  priest,  to  play  his  part  in  the  farce,  all  posed  before 
a  stiff  hedge-row  of  trees.  Julian  and  Albert  De  Vriendt, — 
and  they  might  be  one  for  all  the  difference  that  can  be 
discovered  in  their  works — both  exposed  large  historical 
pictures,  subjects  chosen  under  pressure,  painted  with  no 
spontaneity,  and  adding  to  a  certain  strength  of  color  little 
expression,  much  gothic  rigidity,  and  no  human  interest. 
Generally  painting  with  a  great  deal  of  feeling,  Louis  Gallait 
was  scarcely  suggested  by  two  dramatic  pictures  called  Peace 
and  War,  The  latter  is  a  very  unpleasant  episode,  illustrated 
with  a  horrid  realism.  A  dead  mother  and  infant,  a  child 
wild  with  grief,  and  a  grimy,  pallid  hand,  showing  the  fate 
of  the  father,  the  situation  of  the  scene  marked  by  a  few 
trophies,  it  formed  a  group  to  be  reverently  covered  with  a' 
sheet.  Two  portraits  of  Belgian  gentlemen,  and  one  of  Pope 
Pius  IX. — a  reproduction  of  the  one  in  the  Vatican — were 
painted  with  a  skill  rarely  found  outside  Belgium. 

The  morbid  taste  for  a  spice  of  horror  so  evident  in  the 
picture  just  spoken  of,  recalls  to  my  mind  that  one  of  Wiertz's 
largest  canvases.  The  Fall  of  the  Angels,  hung  in  the  Salon 
cVHonneur,  opposite  the  weak  and  monotonous  expanse  of 
Cabanel's  Trkwiph  of  Flora.     A  confessed   imitator  of  Eu- 


176  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

bens,  and  like  all  copyists  far  behind  his  model,  endowed 
with  a  lively,  and  to  all  intents,  a  diseased  imagination,  and 
governed  by  the  most  haughty  conceit  that  ever  possessed  an 
artist,  Wiertz's  life  was  one  series  of  disappointments  and 
failures,  and  his  pictures  are  but  milestones  of  his  toilsome 
life  journey.  Assembled  now  in  the  Wiertz  Museum  at  Brus- 
sels, they  form  a  sort  of  chamber  of  horrors,  where  the  public 
goes  to  get  a  taste  of  the  mysterious  and  the  horrible,  and 
young  artists  go  to  take  a  lesson  from  this  great  example  of 
misapplied  talents.  The  Fall  of  the  Angels  is  a  confused  mass 
of  nude  figures,  evidently  inspired  by  Rubens, — flocks  of 
ver^^  earthly  angels,  monsters  breathing  fire,  streaks  of  light- 
ning, precipices  falling  and  distortion  and  convulsion  every- 
where. It  is  a  violent  step  from  this  picture  to  the  methodical 
and  logical,  and  consequently  uninteresting  and  tame  produc- 
tion  of  M.  De  Keyser,  the  director  of  the  Academy  at  Ant- 
werp, painted  for  the  Museum  of  the  Academicians  in  that 
city ;  Charles  V.  Delivering  the  Christian  Slaves  at  Tunis  is 
the  subject.  The  really  fine  group  of  slaves  has  no  distinc- 
tive character  that  marks  their  nationality,  the  emperor  is 
posed  with  thorough  academic  formality  and  there  is  a  general 
chocolate  tone  over  the  whole  picture.  The  artist  has  not 
taken  advantage  of  the  resources  at  his  command,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  of  which  is  the  grand  opposition  of  tones 
in  the  flesh  of  the  two  sexes,  and  the  work  is  much  less 
meritorious  than  the  frescoes  in  the  vestibule  of  the  Antwerp 
Museum  completed  by  M.  De  Keyser  about  a  year  ago,  after 
ten  years  of  labor,  and  at  a  cost  to  the  government  of  only 
500,000  francs — a  reward  small  enough  in  proportion  to  the 
real  value  of  the  works.  J.  F.  Portaels,  of  Brussels,  whose 
influence  is  noticeably  great  in  the  formation  of  a  number  of 
young  artists  who  receive  the  benefit  of  his  generous  in- 
struction, exposed  very  little.  One  rather  cold  portrait,  and 
The  Young  Witch,  a  dark-skinned  maiden  with  a  black  cat 
on  her  shoulder,  were  the  only  ones  seen  bearing  his  name. 
One  of  his  pupils,  Emile  Wauters,  exposed  two  large  histori- 
cal scenes,  very  well  studied,  but  not  of  remarkable  strength 
of  execution.     Other  pupils  were  also  represented. 

Of  the  pretentious  works  of  ISlingeneycr  and  Smidt,  whose 
glowing  canvases  covered  much  space  and  possessed  merits 


EEPORT    OF   MR.    MILLETT.  177 

in  inverse  proportion  to  their  size,  little  need  be  said.  Tlie 
former  artist  enjoys  a  great  newspaper  reputation  in  Belgium, 
and,  like  all  painters  who  advertise 'their  productions  in  the 
same  manner  that  the  tradesman  puflFs  his  own  wares,  M. 
Slingeneyer  has  a  certain  mercenary  success  and  a  fame 
among  a  certain  class.  There  is  hardly  a  redeeming  quality 
in  all  his  pictures  shown.  Willems,  too,  falls  far  short  of  his 
reputed  strength,  as  he  was  seen  in  the  Belgian  department. 
His  finish  is  extreme  and  porcelain-like,  his  contours  are  hard 
and  inflexible,  and  his  groups  of  lay  figures  are  drawn  without 
an  idea  of  expression  and  without  an  idea  to  express  ;  besides, 
no  great  charm  of  color  adorns  his  pictures. 

Less  distinctively  Belgian,  and  combining  much  of  the 
French  aptness  for  picture-making  and  freedom  of  execution, 
with  a  fine  sense  of  color  belonging  to  him  as  a  birthright, 
Alfred  Stevens  may  be  classed  among  the  painters  of  the 
salon  order,  but  frequently  rising  to  a  higher  and  more  serious 
effort.  A  large  number  of  pictures  shown  comprised  every 
variety  of  subject,  and  proved  the  exceptional  versatility  of 
the  author.  These  w^ere  several  interiors,  beautifully  painted, 
a  few  trivial  costume  pictures,  a  number  of  charming  en- 
sembles and  simple  but  excellent  studies.  A  young  girl  in 
blue,  holding  a  dove,  called  Sjjving,  is  as  full  of  poetry  as 
the  lines  of  Tennyson  it  recalls,  and  is  distinguished  by 
appropriate  richness  and  simplicity  of  tone  with  a  perfect 
harmony  of  ensemble.  The  costume  pictures  of  M.  Stevens 
are  painted  with  much  seriousness  and  facility  of  execution, 
showing  more  than  ordinary  artistic  feeling.  The  collection 
was  a  unique  and  remarkable  exhibition  of  the  productions 
of  one  artist.  There  is  a  long  list  of  figure  pictures  which  it 
would  occupy  too  much  space  to  particularize,  and  among 
them  are  many  choice  works.  On  the  whole  there  was  a 
gratifying  absence  of  conventionalism  and  marked  individu- 
ality among  them. 

In  the  ranks  of  the  landscape  painters  is  found  an  equal 
diversity  of  manner  and  of  individual  strength.  Lamoriniere, 
who  exposed  several  of  his  pictures,  is  one  of  the  most  strik- 
ingly original  landscapists.  By  sentiment  realistic,  he  finds 
more  to  admire  and  study  in  a  simple  corner  of  Flemish  laud- 
scape  than  in   the   most  varied   accidental   combinations  of 

23 


178  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

forest,  and  hillside  or  plain,  and  has  little  sympathy  with 
the  grand  in  nature's  architecture,  or  Avith  her  most  striking 
moods.  He  paints  trees  with  all  their  richness  and  multi- 
plicity of  tones,  and  lovingly  details  the  texture  of  the  trunks 
and  the  graceful  contours  of  the  limbs.  His  perspective  of 
line  and  of  tone  is  as  faultless  as  his  execution  of  the  tree- 
trunks,  and  he  gives  us  nature  as  she  is,  appealing  only 
through  her  simplest  charms.  The  two  landscapes  by  Van 
Luppen  scarcely  kept  up  this  artist's  reputation.  His  strength 
is  found  in  the  solidly  painted  distances  and  in  a  keener  sense 
of  the  picturesque  than  Lamoriniere  has.  Grandly  broad 
and  superbly  rich  in  color,  a  marine  of  Clays  always  fixes 
the  attention.  It  is  generally  a  clump  of  the  bright  col- 
ored Dutch  boats  and  their  harlequin  sails,  all  reflected  with 
the  glories  of  the  sky  in  myriads  of  ripples,  or  a  choppy 
sea,  a  breezy  sky  and  a  fishing  boat,  tossing  about  on  the 
waves.  Grasping  the  grandest  elements  of  the  scene,  the 
artist  represents  it  with  a  rare  vigor  and  a  strong,  suggestive 
touch  that  reminds  one  of  some  noble  adjective  of  Homer, 
expressing  a  world  of  beauty  in  a  few  syllables  and  character- 
izing with  bold  lines.  Clays  exposed  four  of  his  finest  efforts 
and  they  found  no  rivals. 

The  Ducal  Palace  at  Brussels  contributed  the  large  land- 
scape with  cattle,  by  Robbe,  as  the  most  shining  example  of 
this  artist's  superior  powers.  The  skill  with  which  he  has 
treated  both  elements  of  this  picture,  rank  him  among  the 
foremost  of  animal  and  landscape  painters, — abroad  expanse 
of  meadow,  with  a  herd  of  cattle  feeding,  or  drinking  in  the 
pools,  a  grand  sky  full  of  piled  up  clouds  and  all  in  full  sun- 
light;  this,  rendered  with  a  master's  hand.  A  touch  of  color, 
like  an  echo  of  Troyon  vigorously  and  boldly  placed,  is  a  bull 
fighting  with  dogs.  M.  F.  H.  De  Haas  exposed  some  firmly 
drawn  and  solidly  painted  cattle,  also  a  pair  of  donkeys  on 
the  beach  at  Scheveningen,  very  strong  iu  color  and  well  in 
the  open  air.  With  Joseph  Stevens,  who  sent  a  market  of 
dogs,  a  picturesque  scene,  the  list  is  complete. 

It  is  with  reverence  that  I  approach  the  masterpieces  of 
Joseph  Israels  of  the  Hague,  which  in  my  estimation  rise 
supreme  above  anything  in  the  Dutch  or  Belgian  departments, 
and  find  no  parallels  in  the  whole  Exposition.     Israels  in- 


EEPOET   OF   MR.    MILLETT.  179 

clines  with  a  tender  feeling  of  sympathy,  to  all  that  is  pathetic 
and  touching  in  the  history  of  peasant  life,  and,^«r  excellence, 
the  peasant  painter  among  the  Hollanders,  everything  that 
he  illustrates,  be  it  the  simplest  episode,  he  poetizes  with 
a  solemn  earnestness  of  feeling,  and  almost  unconsciously 
adds  an  element  of  pathos,  though  where  and  how  it  is  one 
cannot  tell.  He,  in  common  with  many  of  his  compatriots, 
loves  a  warm,  brilliant  light  and  a  large  proportion  of 
shadow,  which  in  its  depth  and  mystery  remind  one  of 
Rembrandt,  and,  accompanying  this  admiration  for  strong 
opposition  of  tone  which  with  so  many  artists  is  satisfied  by  a 
brusque  and  harsh  contrast,  is  a  rare  feeling  for  the  harmony 
of  effect.  With  Israels,  his  key  of  color  is  always  admirably 
attuned  with  the  chord  he  touches  in  the  human  feelings,  and 
his  Avork  is  the  grandest  ilkistration  I  can  refer  to  of  this 
power  of  melodious  conception  of  a  subject,  and  the  highest 
proof  of  the  progress  which  I  alluded  to  in  the  first  part  of 
this  article,  as  noticeable  in  this  direction  among  artists  of 
the  present  day.  Israels'  interiors  are  marvels  of  depth  and 
richness  of  tone  and  positive  truth  of  opposition,  and  in  the 
management  of  shadows  he  has  no  equal.  He  exposed  two 
pictures  of  the  same  motive,  a  mother  feeding  her  child, 
noticeable  for  the  strength  of  color  and  play  of  light  poetically 
rendered ;  but  his  clief-d'ceuvre  was  From  Darkness  to  Light. 
It  is  a  Dutch  interior,  sombre  and  mysterious.  In  the  fore- 
ground is  a  mother  with  two  children,  motionless  under  the 
crushing  weight  of  the  grief  they  feel  as  the  coffin,  with  the 
remains  of  the  husband  and  father,  is  borne  from  the  apart- 
ment by  the  assembled  villagers.  A  soft  light  steals  through 
the  open  door,  defining  the  forms  of  the  rough  peasants  who, 
with  all  the  tenderness  of  women  in  their  sympathy  with  the 
grief  of  the  family,  reverently  bear  their  burden.  You  feel 
all  the  oppressive  quiet  of  the  scene,  broken  only  by  the 
mournful  tones  of  the  bell  that  tremble  in  the  air,  and,  with 
the  peaceful  light,  half  subdued,  steals  into  the  darkened 
room.  No  dramatic  exaggeration,  no  violent  contrasts,  all 
solemn  and  peaceful  and  quiet ; — a  true  elegy  and  nobly  ex- 
pressed. After  Israels  ei^ery thing  seems  cold  and  passion- 
less, but  there  was  a  similar  inspiration  of  color  visible  in  the 
works  of  several  other  artists  who    exposed   less  eloquent 


180  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

pictures.  Sadee  hung  some  charming  bits  of  quiet  color,  one 
illustrating  a  scene  common  enough  at  a  cathedral  door,  the 
poor  receiving  the  bread  bequeathed  by  some  pious  burgher, 
to  secure  the  prayers  of  the  recipients  of  this  rather  selfish 
charity.  The  figures  are  remarkable  for  solid  truth  of  tone 
and  charming  execution.  There  were  few  pictures  inspired 
by  a  very  picturesque  element  of  Dutch  peasantry,  the  fisher- 
men. Elchanou  Yerveer  was  the  only  one  who  was  moved 
to  try  this  path,  and  even  he  does  not  enter  enough  into  the 
spirit  of  the  fisherman's  life  to  produce  more  than  a  skilful 
study  of  a  quaint  model  well  posed.  Beside  Israels'  portrait 
of  his  mother,  there  was  but  one  other  which  made  itself  seen. 
This  was  Bisschop's  portrait  of  John  Lothrop  Motley.  The 
light  is  harsh,  the  tone  false,  and  though  artistically  treated, 
especially  in  the  accessories,  it  is  not  a  portrait  from  which 
one  could  ever  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  historian.  This 
artist  also  exposed  a  life-sized  figure  of  a  young  girl,  a  little 
crude  in  color,  and  several  interiors  with  many  good  quali- 
ties of  tone,  but  an  occasional  meagreness  of  light.  Among 
the  landscapes  were  found  few  motives  from  the  characteristic 
beauties  of  the  Dutch  landscape.  Almost  no  windmills,  a 
canal  or  two  by  S.  L.  Yerveer,  with  but  a  hint  of  the  rich- 
ness of  the  local  color,  a  few  brilliant  studies  by  Roelofs,  and 
several  marines,  were  all  the  noticeable  efforts  in  this  direc- 
tion, with  the  exception  of  several  strong  architectural  pictures 
by  Springer.  Among  the  marines,  two  pictures  by  Heemskerck 
van  Beest,  and  two  by  Mesdag,  were  painted  with  more  than 
ordinary  skill,  but  were  not  especially  attractive.  Madame 
Ronner,  with  her  strongly  touched  and  well  understood  groups 
of  domestic  animals,  was  the  most  original  -animal  painter 
represented. 

Entering  upon  the  review  of  German  art,  it  is  clear  to  me 
that  I  leave  behind  the  field  of  impulsiveness  and  spontaneity, 
and  am  penetrating  the  arena  of  plodding  and  logical,  well 
reasoned  and  conscientiously  studied  efforts,  but  with  accom- 
panying results  necessarily  dry  and  only  superficially  impres- 
sive. This  may  seem  strong  language  to  apply  to  such  a 
powerful  and  influential  school  of  art,  as  the  one  I  am  about 
to  discuss,  but  this  is  the  idea  induced  by  the  general  aspect 
of  the  German  department  of  the  Exposition,  and  the  impress 


REPORT    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  181 

left  upon  every  unbiased  mind  after  a  serious  study  of  the  ex- 
amples shown.  Grand  exceptions  to  this  sweeping  statement 
there  are  indeed,  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  render  them  full 
justice  in  the  detailed  review  which  follows.  The  striking 
diiference  between  the  German  art  and  the  art  just  considered, 
lies  in  the  very  lack  of  that  element  which  characterizes  the 
latter,  impressibility.  Then  on  the  one  hand  we  have  formal- 
ity, a  cool  calculation  of  the  means  and  the  results  and  an 
almost  servile  imitation  ;  on  the  other,  freedom,  spontaneity 
and  originality  ; — all  this  in  general  terms.  In  Germany  the 
idea  of  an  artist  seems  to  be  to  adopt  the  principles  and 
arbitrary  rules  of  some  recognized  light  in  the  profession,  and 
to  base  all  future  efforts  on  the  attempts  to  reconcile  these 
rules  with  the  requirements  of  his  owm  temperament.  Each 
artist  of  note  has,  then,  scores  of  followers,  many  of  whom 
paint  even  better  than  their  master,  and  they  are  all  similarly 
inspired.  If  we  take  the  genre  painters,  which  represent  by 
for  the  most  numerous  class,  we  shall  find  hardly  a  trace  of 
individuality  in  their  ranks.  They  paint  the  same  sul)jects, 
compose  after  the  same  rules,  execute  in  the  same  manner 
one  with  another,  and  it  was  a  rather  monotonous  succes- 
sion of  genres  that  constituted  a  large  proportion  of  the 
pictures  in  the  German  department.  As  a  rule,  these 
pictures  are  painted  almost  above  reproach,  so  far  as  the 
mechanical  execution  goes.  The  flesh  has  often  very  charm- 
ing tones,  the  figures  are  unexceptionally  draped  and  drawn, 
and  the  arrangement  is  pleasing.  They  impress  one,  how- 
ever, from  this  very  perfection  of  execution,  and  by  their 
unmistakable  traces  of  cold  reasoning,  leave  the  spectator 
unmoved  and  unsympathetic.  Not  accompanied  by  any 
superior  force  of  imagination,  the  artistic  taste  exhausts 
itself  in  perfecting  the  productions  to  a  degree  which 
compels  the  spectator  to  follow  the  same  passionless  course 
and  arrive  at  the  same  logical  sequences.  A  scene  is  illus- 
trated so  calculatingly  correct  and  ploddingly  detailed,  that 
no  imagination  of  the  spectators  can  mould  and  adapt  the 
ideas  set  forth  to  his  individual  current  of  thought.  It  is  the 
supremest  pleasure  to  enjoy  this  play  of  the  imagination 
which  creates  and  transforms,  and  harmonizes  all  things  with 
the  experiences  of  our  own  lives,  and  perfects  and  glorifies 


182  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

beyond  the  limits  of  human  execution.  Where  there  is  room 
for  this  play  of  the  imagination,  there  we  shall  always  find 
we  are  impressed  the  strongest,  and  it  is  partly  in  this  respect 
that  the  Germans  ftiil  to  speak  eloquently  with  the  brush.  In 
their  treatment  of  the  genre,  as  at  present  developed,  there 
is  an  evident  tendency  toward  the  exaggeration  of  type, 
action  and  even  costume  which  degenerates  often  into  broad 
caricature.  This  inclination  to  caricature  is  not  limited  to 
the  less  noted  of  the  genre  painters,  but  affects  all  to  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  and  it  results,  it  is  plain,  from  pushing  too 
far  the  admiration  for  peculiarities  of  type,  and  from  a  low 
order  of  perceptive  faculties  which  grasps  only  the  broadest 
distinctions  of  character.  The  ability  of  caricaturing  holds 
the  lowest  rank  among  the  qualifications  of  an  artist,  and 
wherever  this  element  exists  in  a  picture,  the  work  loses  by 
so  much  its  seriousness,  and  palls  the  sooner  on  the  spectator's 
vision.  In  an  imaginative  and  imagination-inspiring  picture, 
— and  these  qualities  are  inseparable — there  always  remains 
something  undiscovered,  there  is  a  continual  enticement  to 
the  unveiling  of  new  beauties.  Such  charms  are  rarely  found 
in  the  German  genres. 

Carl  Piloty's  great  historical  picture,  The  Triumph  of  Ger- 
manicus,  was  hung  in  the  Salon  d'Honneur^  and  was  the  most 
important  of  the  academic  works  shown.  It  is  a  picture  of 
great  personal  presence ;  it  makes  itself  seen  and  impels 
study,  attracting  almost  solely  from  its  exceptionally  power- 
ful expression.  Briefly  described,  it  represents  the  triumphal 
procession  of  Germanicus  on  the  occasion  of  his  return  from 
Germany  by  command  of  the  jealous  Tiberius,  as  it  moves 
through  a  triumphal  arch  and  passes  in  front  of  the  imperial 
throne.  The  emperor,  accompanied  by  courtesans,  and 
surrounded  by  his  favorite  ofiicials,  sits  gloomily  regarding 
the  scene  from  the  height  of  a  raised  throne.  Directly  in 
front,  with  chained  wrists,  walks  Thusnelda,  leading  her  little 
son  Thumelicus.  Before  her  march  three  sturdy  followers 
chained  to  the  yoke,  and  a  venerable  harper  whom  a  brutal 
Koman  soldier  drags  along  by  the  long  white  beard,  grasping 
the  tether  of  a  huge  bear  with  the  same  brawny  hand.  Behind 
Thusnelda  follow  her  maids  and  sisters,  moved  by  different 
emotions  of  their  uuconquered  spirit,  and  in  the  distance  on  a 


REPORT    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  183 

triumphal  chariot,  surrounded  by  his  five  sous,  among  whom 
is  seen  Caligula,  proudly  rides  Germanicus  in  the  regalia  of 
a  conqueror,  the  mark  for  showers  of  bouquets  and  garlands. 
There  is  nothing  especially  original  in  the  composition  of  the 
picture,  the  light  is  concentrated  on  the  white-robed  figure  of 
Thusnelda,  and  the  shadow  encircles  it  completely,  of  course 
magnifying  the  importance  of  the  principal  group  and  sub- 
ordinating all  the  rest.  The  distance  is  treated  with  great 
skill,  and  the  fine  ejEfect  of  light  artistically  managed.  The 
color  is  not  absolutely  bad  nor  yet  fine,  and  certain  passages 
are  decidedly  conventional.  The  figure  of  Thusnelda  is  a 
beautiful  one,  full  of  haughty  pride  and  queenly  grace,  and 
the  action  of  the  little  boy  clinging  to  his  mother's  hand  is 
charmingly  naive.  The  character  of  the  blond  Germans  is 
finely  portrayed,  and  there  is  no  lack  of  interest  in  the  per- 
sonages or  incidents.  As  an  expressive  illustration  of  a 
familiar  event  in  Roman  history,  it  is  worthy  the  highest 
praise,  and  is  far  more  feelingly  composed  and  lovingly 
studied  than  the  majority  of  similar  productions. 

The  Building  of  the  Pyramids  is  the  title  of  Gustav  Eich- 
ter's  largest  and  most  pretentious  picture,  and  the  name  suggests 
much  more  than  is  found  on  the  canvas.  Such  a  subject  is 
fertile  in  resources,  and  requires  little  invention  or  forcing  of 
situation  to  make  an  interesting  composition.  But  Richter 
has  produced  an  illustration  neither  remarkably  instructive 
archaeological ly,  nor  abounding  in  other  interest.  His  pyr- 
amids are  buildings  after  a  decidedly  modern  principle,  his 
tyjDes  are  more  Abyssinian  than  Egyptian,  and  there  is  hardly 
a  costume  correctly  given.  There  is,  withal,  verj^  little  unity 
of  idea  in  the  work.  Th<^  figures  are  moved  by  no  common 
impulse ;  they  are  as  diverse  in  sentiment  as  they  are  false  in 
type,  and  in  a  large  proportion  are  simple  remjplissage.  Take 
the  figure  of  a  young  girl  with  a  jar  of  water,  leaning  idly 
against  a  tree,  and  gracefully  raising  the  ten-gallon  jar  full  of 
water  for  a  boy  to  drink  as  easily  as  if  it  were  a  feather ;  or 
the  vegetable  carriers,  entering  the  underground  apartment, 
where  the  artist  has  even  been  obliged  to  introduce  the  effect 
of  torch-light,  to  enhance  the  somewhat  flagging  interest  in 
that  portion  of  the  picture  ;  or  even  consider  any  figure  away 
from  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  queen  and  chief  architect, 


184  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

unci  you  will  find  they  are  unconscious  of  the  presence  of  the 
illustrious  visitors,  and  are  all  posed  and  grouped  to  perfect 
the  composition,  but  not  to  illustrate  a  shadow  of  the  main 
idea.  In  treatment,  the  flesh  is  hard  and  inflexible,  the  light 
is  harsh,  and  falsities  of  tone  prevail.  The  shadows  are,  for 
the  most  part,  of  a  chocolate  opacity.  In  two  portraits,  hung 
either  side  of  the  large  picture,  Eichter  was  seen  to  much 
better  advantage.  The  artist's  wife,  with  her  infimt  on  her 
arm,  very  gracefully  posed,  and  the  face  full  of  motherly 
tenderness,  is  painted  with  great  skill,  and  excellent  in  color 
and  drawing.  This  portrait  had  no  rival,  but  its  companion, 
which  is  of  the  artist  himself,  and  an  older  child,  who  holds 
a  glass  of  champagne  to  the  light,  its  chubby  arm  supported 
by  the  strong  hand  of  the  father.  These  portraits  possess  all 
the  interest  of  pictures,  and  are  beautifully  arranged  and 
charmingly  rendered. 

Of  the  immense  allegories  and  numerous  religious  pictures 
exposed,  there  was  little  more  remarkable  than  their  general 
conventionality  and  parallel  merits.  One  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  genres,  and  even  of  the  pictures  above  described,  is  their 
adaptability  to  almost  perfect  representation  by  a  photograph, 
gaining  rather  than  losing  by  this  means  of  reproduction. 
Any  one  who  is  acquainted  with  Paul  Meyerheim,  through 
the  photographs  of  his  pictures,  cannot  fail  to  be  greatly  dis- 
appointed at  the  sight  of  the  originals.  Without  exception, 
as  they  were  seen  in  Vienna,  they  are  hard  and  dry  in  contour 
and  color.  The  Menagerie,  in  which  the  burly  keeper  per- 
forms with  the  boa-constrictor,  to  the  amazement  of  a  gaping 
crowd  of  country  people,  and  the  wise-looking  pelican,  the 
awkward  flamingo,  and  the  garrulous  parrot,  adding  to  the 
interest  of  the  occasion,  is  one  of  the  better  examples  of  this 
artist.  Shearing  Sheep,  and  one  or  two  others,  are  notice- 
able only  for  the  lack  of  the  good  qualities  which  belong  to 
the  one  first  mentioned,  and  in  none  of  these  is  there  any 
story  told  worth  recording.  Knaus  is  evidently  resting  on 
his  oars,  having  put  off  the  student's  cap,  and  occupying  him- 
self with  the  elaboration  of  what  he  has  already  acquired — 
judging  from  his  half  dozen  pictures  exposed.  There  is  not 
a  suggestion  of  direct  inspiration  from  nature  in  any  of  them, 
and  they  all  could  have  been,  and  probably  were,  painted  by 


EEPORT    or   MR.    MILLETT.  185 

heart.  The  heads  are,  for  the  most  part,  broadly  caricatured, 
and  his  attempts  at  sentiment  fall  flatly  and  coldly  on  the 
spectator.  A  group  of  peasants,  gathered  around  a  table, 
represent  to  the  disinterested  spectator  little  more  than  a  col- 
lection of  yellow  faces,  expressionless  where  not  caricatured, 
and  less  impressive  than  so  many  mummies.  A  A^llage 
funeral,  with  the  dusty  old  mourners,  the  groups  of  children, 
the  same  ugly  bier  and  black  pall  that  have  figured  in  so 
many  similar  conceptions,  very  little  pathos,  and  no  juiciness 
of  color — this  is  hardly  to  be  ranked  with  Knaus'  best  efforts. 
The  common  motives  among  German  geni^e  painters  are 
found  in  the  comic  incidents  of  peasant  life,  or  pleasant  little 
scenes  at  social  gatherings,  and  among  all  the  long  list  of 
painters  who  illustrate  peasant  life,  there  is  not  one  to  be 
found  who  acknowledges,  with  his  brush,  at  least,  that  the 
being  he  represents  has  any  deeper  feelings  than  those  which 
prominently  distinguish  him  from  the  higher  brutes,  and 
more  than  the  facial  expression  of  grief  and  joy.  Vautier, 
who  was  better  seen  in  the  Swiss  department,  exposed  one  of 
these  scenes,  irreproachably  painted,  full  of  humorous  situa- 
tion, and  valuable  only  as  an  illustration  of  an  interesting 
custom  among  peasants.  It  is  a  dance  in  a  country  inn,  with 
a  group  of  girls  standing  on  the  benches,  to  see  the  fun, 
three  quaint  musicians,  and  the  room  in  the  background  full 
of  grotesque  figures.  Deffregger  has  more  of  the  best  side 
of  peasant  life  in  his  genres,  and  certainly  paints  with  much 
more  feeling  for  color,  and  heartier  sympathy  with  the  peas- 
ants as  something  more  than  simple  models  for  superficial 
imitation.  He  exposed,  among  others,  a  picture  similarly 
inspired  with  the  one  above  mentioned,  and  conceived  with 
more  genuine  humor,  and  having  more  interesting  situations. 
The  Munich  artists  contributed  largely  to  the  collection,  and 
some  idea  of  the  number  of  pictures  sent  from  that  city  may 
be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  to  Munich  alone  went  fifty  art 
medals.  It  must  be  remembered  that  this  is  no  criterion  of 
their  superior  excellence,  for  the  artists  not  rewarded  with 
medals  are  the  exception,  not  the  rule.  The  large  proportion 
of  these  pictures  were  of  the  class  of  genres  I  have  described  ; 
scarcely  one  poetical  idea,  and  little  seriousness  of  purpose 
in  them.     It  would  be  unjust,  however,  to  place  Kurzbauer 

24 


186  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

and  Mathias  Schmidt,  of  Munich,  under  this  category.  Of 
the  tirst,  I  shall  speak  later,  in  the  Austrian  department ;  and 
the  latter,  although  a  young  man,  even  now  excels  in  many 
ways  the  older  and  better  known  genre  painters.  His  sub- 
jects are  always  interesting,  and  the  figures  broadly  touched, 
with  an  evident  inspiration  from  the  Dutch  treatment.  Be- 
sides, there  is  more  naivete  of  expression  and  pose  found 
with  him. 

In  certain  examples  of  Munich  work  is  seen  the  results  of 
a  new  departure  from  the  conventional  manner  of  execution, 
and  an  extreme  tendency  in  the  opposite  direction.  These 
artists  have  mistaken  carelessness  for  breadth,  and  freedom, 
which  is  the  result  of  ignorance  rather  than  knowledge,  for 
bold  precision  of  touch.  They  ignore  contours  and  forms, 
their  touch  is  brutal  and  feeliugless,  and  they  think  they  are 
geniuses  when  they  have  learned  to  be  careless.  Several 
portraits  painted  in  this  manner  were  shown,  and  one  or  two 
genres.  That  good  results  may  follow  from  this  radical 
change  in  manner  is  quite  probable,  when  it  shall  have  been 
modified  by  the  teachings  of  experience. 

One  would  suppose  that  the  Franco-Prussian  war  would 
have  supplied  the.  victors,  at  least,  with  motives  innumerable  ; 
it  was  an  agreeable  disappointment  to  find  war  pictures  few 
and  comparatively  insignificant.  There  were  one  or  two 
incidents  in  the  war  history  of  the  crown  prince,  a  charge  or 
two,  and  a  little  artillery  duelling ;  but  the  war  pictures 
illustrated  little  heroism,  and  often  exposed  the  weaker  side 
of  the  Prussian  nature.  For  example :  a  picket-guard  of 
Prussians,  with  pointed  guns,  ready  to  slaughter  at  the  word 
a  half  score  of  unsuspecting,  hungry  French  foragers,  on  the 
search  for  vegetables,  in  the  thick  mist  of  early  morning, — 
this  does  not  inspire  respect  for  the  sentiments  of  the  con- 
querors. 

There  were  few  portraits  shown,  and  beside  those  of 
Kichter,  already  spoken  of,  two  fine  equestrian  portraits  by 
Camphausen,  and  several  heads  by  Lenbach,  of  whom  I  shall 
speak  at  length  in  the  Austrian  department,  there  were  none 
of  remarkable  merits.  In  the  way  of  landscapes,  there  were 
a  number  of  gratifying  exceptions  to  the  rule  of  convention- 
alism and  mediocrity  which  has  so  long  applied  to  the  Ger- 


EEPOET    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  187 

man  land  scapes.  There  were  landscapes,  to  be  sure,  almost 
measured  by  the  acre,  executed  in  the  same  feelingless  man- 
ner, which  proves  that  the  reverence  for  the  established, 
arbitrary  rules  which  have  so  long  governed  this  branch  of 
art  in  Germany  still  holds  a  place  in  the  breasts  of  many 
German  artists.  The  noticeable  difficulty  with  which  the 
landscapists  struggle  is  their  mistaken  enthusiasm  for  the 
grandeur  of  nature,  and  the  attempt  to  represent  immensity 
by  very  liliputian  means.  They  are  generally  impressed  by 
Sb  scene  which  has  magnificent  distances,  towering  mountains, 
grand  heights,  and  no  elements  of  picturesqueness  other  than 
may  be  added  by  a  chalet  and  a  clump  of  evergreens. 
When  they  do  leave  this  field  of  grand,  but  not  necessarily 
picturesque  beauty,  they  are  more  successful  in  their  render- 
ing of  nature  as  she  exists  in  her  most  charming  phases,  and 
impress  by  finer  and  less  stagy  contrasts,  inspiring  a  deeper 
and  quieter  admiration  for  her  beauties.  Adolph  Lier  is  one 
of  the  artists  who  have  turned  aside  from  the  traditions  of 
this  branch  of  German  art,  and  is  pursuing  a  path  of  origi- 
nality of  execution  and  conception.  His  Country  Road  on  a 
Rainy  Day,  a  beautiful  gray  picture,  is  full  of  sentiment, 
and  the  Sj)nng  Landscape,  with  fresh  foliage,  interlaced 
branches,  charming  distance,  and  strong  foreground,  has  rare 
qualities  of  light.  Not  unlike  these  pictures  is  one  by 
George  Oeder,  of  Diisseldorf,  painted  with  very  much  the 
same  feeling  for  quiet  grays,  and  with  a  skilful  touch,  and  one 
b}'-  Sleich,  of  Munich,  with  similar  qualities.  These  gray 
landscapes  form  much  the  strongest  class  of  a  large  number 
of  excellent  pictures,  and  are  characterized  by  very  quiet 
effects  and  simple  composition. 

Among  the  animal  painters,  Carl  StefFeck,  of  Berlin,  ex- 
posed by  far  the  most  expressive  pictures.  In  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  depth  of  feeling  which  may  stir  the  heart  of  a 
dumb  animal,  he  stands  alone.  A  finer  bit  of  sentiment  than 
his  Dead  Foal  was  not  seen  in  the  German  department. 
The  colt  lies  dead  on  the  ground,  and  the  mother,  with  an 
unmistakable  expression  of  the  acutest  grief  and  anxiety  vis- 
ible in  the  dilated  nostrils,  sad  eyes,  and  pointed  ears,  stands 
over  the  body,  watching  and  almost  weeping.  In  the  twi- 
light, the  forms  of  the  rest  of  the  herd  are  seen  moving  off 


188  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

toward  the  shelter,  and  a  mournful  tone  of  approachhig 
night  harmonizes  with  the  grief  of  the  animal.  The  horses 
are  drawn  with  great  precision  of  line  and  knowledge  of 
forms.  The  same  may  be  said  of  another  picture,  Tlie  Ser- 
vice of  Friendshi]) — a  finely-built  gray  mare,  making  ac- 
quaintance with  the  mother  of  a  litter  of  pujjs  in  the  corner 
of  the  stable.  On  a  much  smaller  scale,  and  with  little  or 
no  attempt  at  expression  in  the  animals,  are  the  horses  of 
Max  Gierymski,  who  exposed  a  number  of  cavalry  groups, 
admirably  drawn,  artistically  composed  and  painted.  In 
these  groups,  the  landscape  is  not  the  least  interesting  part, 
and  this  is  also  true  of  the  small  horse  pictures  of  Professor 
Dietz.  The  latter  are  effective  as  landscapes,  and  are  rich  and 
fine  in  tone  and  color.  Schreyer  sent  a  few  of  his  mediocre 
works,  none  of  them  giving  a  hint  of  the  masterly  power  that 
is  found  in  the  Cossack  Horses  in  a  Storm,  in  the  Luxem- 
bourg Palace  at  Paris.  Charles  Verlat,  who  was  represented 
by  a  portrait  of  the  Queen  of  Holland  in  this  department, 
and  by  two  or  three  strongly  painted,  but  overdrawn  and 
dramatic  pictures  in  the  Belgian  section,  was  seen  in  his  ele- 
ment in  The  Artist,  a  monkey,  at  work  at  an  easel — a  work 
full  of  the  richest  color  and  most  skilful  handling. 

The  Swiss  painters  are  thoroughly  German  in  their  ideas, 
and  this  department  differed  only  from  the  German  one  in 
the  much  smaller  proportion  of  excellent  works.  This  may 
be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Switzerland  sent  few  or  no 
pictures  from  the  museums,  but  depended  on  her  artists  to 
represent  the  country  in  her  full  artistic  strength.  As  there 
was  no  high  standard  of  admission  to  the  collection,  the 
number  of  mediocre  works  was  large,  and  consequently  the 
aspect  of  the  hall  was  not  agreeable.  The  Swiss  seem  to  bo 
slower  than  their  neighbors  to  give  up  their  old,  conventional 
ideas,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  much  more  inflexible  adherents  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  past.  Very  many  of  the  best  artists 
paint  in  Germany,  and,  from  patriotic  motives,  exposed  un- 
der the  flag  of  their  fiitherland.  Vautier  added  three  pictures 
to  the  Swiss  collection,  one  of  which.  The  Village  Funeral, 
is  generally  considered  his  best  work.  The  story  is  told  with 
more  skill  than  feeling,  and  Avhile,  in  its  presence  one 
sympathizes  with  the  mourning  friends,  the  impress  is  not 


IlEPORT   OF   MR.    BIILLETT.  189 

,1  lasting  one.  The  motive  is  not  strikingly  new,  nor  treated 
in  an  original  way  ;  indeed,  the  picture  has  its  counterpart  in 
the  German  department.  The  scene  is  easily  suggested  by 
the  title.  A  few  uniformed  attendants  are  bringing  the  coffin 
out  of  the  house  of  mom'ning,  and  the  villagers  are  gathered 
around  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  or 
assemble  from  motives  of  curiosity.  There  are,  of  course, 
immense  resources  of  costume,  pose  and  expression,  and  all 
this  the  artist  has  skilfully  taken  advantage  of.  The  types  of 
the  villagers  are  well  caught,  but  there  is  little  charm  in  the 
color.  In  many  respects,  the  Sick-Bed  was  the  most  impres- 
sive. A  laborer,  at  the  death-bed  of  his  wife,  holds  in  his 
rough  fingers  the  wasted  hand  of  the  dying  woman,  and 
receives  her  last  counsels  for  the  care  of  their  child.  The 
sentiment  is  unobtrusively  urged  upon  the  spectator,  and  the 
interior  is  fine  in  color  and  painted  with  Vautier's  best  touch. 
E.  Stilckelberg  is,  with  the  exception  of  Gleyre,  the  only 
one  who  professes  to  represent  the  nude,  and  his  attempts 
are  not  always  eminently  successful.  However,  his  young 
girl  and  her  lover  at  the  fortune-teller's  is  an  attractive  group, 
well  painted.  Gleyre  sent  La  Gharmeuse,  a  single  nude  female 
figure  in  the  thicket,  very-delicate  in  contour  and  in  color.  By 
a  too  highly  finished  background,  he  weakened  the  effect  of 
his  flesh,  and  lost  the  otherwise  charming  contrast  of  texture. 
There  was  one  picture  shown,  inspired  from  an  American 
scene,  which  deserves  mention  more  from  its  unique  appear- 
ance and  pretentious  air,  than  from  any  distinguished  merits 
it  jDossessed.  The  subject  is  Mary  Blane,  and  at  a  distance 
the  picture  looked  like  a  group  of  plum-colored  negroes, 
afiiicted  with  the  leprosy,  clothes  and  all ;  but  at  a  nearer 
view  it  is  found  that  the  yellow  spots  on  the  darkeys  gathered 
around  the  banjo-player  are  intended  for  spots  of  sunlight 
struggling  through  the  foliage, — the  bluest  of  skies,  blue 
mountains  in  the  distance,  blue  shadows  on  the  white  horse, 
blue  trees,  blue  dresses,  and  very  blue  blue  everywhere;  and 
the  stranger  must  believe  that  Charlottesville,  Virginia,  must 
be  a  great  mine  of  blueing,  and  the  inhabitants  get  their 
peculiar  color  from  life-long  residence  in  this  loqality.  The 
canvas  bore  the  name  of  Frank  Buchser.  Neither  in  animal 
painting  nor  in  landscape  was  there  anything  of  special  note. 


190  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Austrian  art  has  very  little  distinctive  character ;  it  has 
more  of  the  French  than  of  the  German  element  in  it,  and  it 
has  drawn  from  these  two  sources  liberally.  Regarding  the 
Viennese  as  the  typical  Austrian,  it  is  surprising  to  see  how 
they  have  assimilated  French  and  German  ideas  in  their  so- 
ciety, in  their  literature  and  in  their  art.  Vienna  is  far  from 
being  an  artistic  city.  Unpicturesque  as  she  now  stands, 
unimposing  architecturally  in  comparison  with  many  other 
European  cities,  and  with  superficiality  of  character  in  the 
people,  well  illustrated  by  the  very  celebrated,  but,  on  ac- 
quaintance, wearisome  music  of  her  pet  musicians,  the  Strauss 
family,  she  offers  no  special  advantages  to  her  artists  in  the 
way  of  public  instruction  or  patronage.  It  is  little  to  be 
expected  that  in  a  city  where  there  is,  generally  speaking,  no 
homes,  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  and  where  you  may  visit  a 
thousand  apartments  without  seeing  a  library  or  even  a  book- 
shelf, that  there  should  be  a  great  public  taste  for  art.  The 
Viennese,  as  a  rule,  seek  amusement  outside  their  own  rooms, 
and  do  not,  like  the  English  or  the  French,  strive  to  decorate 
their  interiors  with  an  idea  to  the  solid  and  lasting  gratifica- 
tion of  the  eye.  The  Englishman  and  Frenchman  in  quite 
humble  circumstances  will  often  buy  a  small  picture,  which, 
hung  in  the  best  light  their  rooms  afford,  shown  with  loving 
pride  to  every  visitor,  cherished  as  if  it  were  from  the  hand 
of  an  old  master,  stands  as  almost  food  and  drink  for  its 
happy  owner,  and  certainly  does  furnish  much  mental  nourish- 
ment. On  the  contrary,  the  Viennese  affect  the  flash  and 
glitter  of  the  French  taste,  display  as  a  people  no  ideas  of 
proper  combinations  of  color,  and  yet  have  the  reputation  of 
possessing  original  artistic  faculties  to  a  high  degree ; — a 
reputation  founded  on  this  universal  genius  for  assimihition 
of  other  men's  ideas,  and  not  always  the  best  ones  at  that. 
The  art  academy  does  not  rank  high,  either  in  the  means  of 
instruction  or  in  the  number  of  its  students,  and  most  young 
artists,  tempted  by  the  superior  advantages  of  the  schools  of 
Munich  or  Paris,  and  the  easy  access  to  these  art  centres, 
seek  the  establishment  of  their  ground  or  foundation  for  their 
future  artistic  career  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  schools. 
The  Austrian  empire  has  within  its  boundaries  a  greater 
variety  of  picturesque  natural  scenery,  of  type  of  race,  of 


REPORT    OF   ME.    MILLETT.  191 

various  costumes  aud  peculiar  customs,  than  any  other  coun- 
try" in  Europe.  It  has  yet  almost  unexplored  fields  for 
artistic  labor  as  fertile  as  any  in  the  world  ;  its  history  is  full 
of  incident  and  abounding  in  resources  ;  infinite  motives  may 
be  found  for  the  genre  painter,  the  peasant  painter,  the  land- 
scape or  the  animal  painter; — and  in  Austrian  art  we  find, 
with  one  or  two  noticeable  exceptions,  none  of  this  home 
inspiration.  There  are  French,  German  and  Italian  genres, 
historical  scenes  from  each  country  and  few  from  Austria. 

The  three  prominent  figures  in  the  rank  of  artists  are  Mak- 
art,  Munkacsy  and  Matejko.  Makart  was  not  represented  in 
the  Exposition,  but  there  were  several  historical  pictures  and 
portraits  by  Matejko,  and  a  good  display  of  Munkacsy's 
works.  Matejko  is  a  remarkable  example  of  unselfish  devo- 
tion to  art  for  its  own  sake,  and,  as  his  pictures  witness,  he 
has  a  deep  and  serious  purpose  in  painting.  His  art  is  the 
child  of  his  patriotism,  and  he  applies  himself  untiringly  and 
constantly  to  the  awakening  of  the  slumbering  patriotic  ideas 
in  his  unfortunate  countrymen,  and  to  the  elevation  of  this 
people  from  the  state  of  apathy  into  which  they  have  been 
forced  by  years  of  oppression,  and  he  devotes  to  this  service 
his  incontestable  talent,  ilhistrating  the  noblest  and  grandest 
incidents  in  the  history  of  Poland.  It  is  interesting  to  know 
something  of  the  life  of  this  painter,  who  joins  with  his  won- 
derfully acute  artistic  nature  such  a  deep  and  passionate 
patriotism.  He  is  but  thirty-three  years  of  age,  living  in  his 
native  village,  Cracow,  in  the  simplest  manner,  perhaps  not 
untempted  by,  but  yet  proof  against,  the  attractions  of  the 
honors  and  fortunes  which  await  him  in  the  wide  field  open 
to  his  talents  in  the  outer  world.  He  lives  with  his  family 
in  the  most  modest  of  cottages,  almost  a  hut,  and  his  studio, 
if  it  can  be  called  such,  is  so  small  that  he  is  unable  to  paint 
on  more  than  a  part  of  one  of  his  large  canvases  at  a  time, 
being  obliged  to  roll  it  up  as  he  finishes  a  portion.  This 
may  account  somewhat  for  the  occasionally  remarked  want 
of  harmony  in  the  ensemble  of  his  large  works.  It  is  said 
that  the  municipality  of  Cracow  have  just  decided  to  build 
him  a  comfortable  studio  out  of  the  public  funds. 

His  historical  pictures  shown  in  the  Austrian  department 
were  conceived  by  the  artist  with  the  idea  of  illustrating  three 


192  EXPOSITION   AT   VIEXNA. 

great  acts  in  the  drama  of  Poland's  history,  which  should 
mark  three  distinct  epochs,  together  eloquently  expressive  of 
the  tale  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  Polish  supremacy.  They 
represent  Poland  by  the  alliance  with  Lithuania  taking  its 
place  among  the  European  powers  ;  Poland  in  the  triumph  of 
its  arms,  and  in  the  first  symptoms  of  decadence.  The  first 
picture  is  the  interior  of  the  council-chamber  at  Lublin,  with 
an  assembled  multitude  of  Polish,  Lithuanian  and  Ruthenian 
deputies,  to  witness  the  administration  of  the  solemn  oath 
which  was  to  bind  these  peoples  together  as  one  nation. 
This  was  in  1572,  sixty  years  after  the  marriage  of  Edwidge 
of  Poland  with  Ladislas  Jagellon  of  Lithuania,  and  under  the 
reign  of  Sigismond  Augustus  II.  The  king  erect,  with  the 
crucifix  in  hand,  is  repeating  the  oath  to  the  grand  chancellor, 
who  kneels,  with  one  hand  upon  the  Bible,  and  reverently 
assents  to  the  conditions  of  the  oath.  The  venerable  cardinal, 
Hozuus,  the  president  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  in  his  red 
robes,  stretches  out  his  hands  and  with  a  trembling  gesture 
invokes  God's  blessing  on  the  act.  Around  are  clustered, 
with  expressions  of  solemn  earnestness,  the  dignitaries  of  the 
church  and  state.  Besides  an  immense  wealth  of  resources 
in  the  costumes  of  Oriental  magnificence  and  rich  accessories, 
Matejko  has  personated  with  wonderful  accuracy  the  types  of 
the  different  races,  the  heads  being  drawn  with  great  preci- 
sion. All  his  personages  are  individuals  in  face,  figure  and 
in  gesture,  and  as  a  physiognomist  he  has  scarcely  an  equal. 
Later  in  the  history  of  Poland  an  incident  furnishes,  if 
possible,  a  more  interesting  motive  for  the  artist.  It  is  King 
Bathory  in  the  midst  of  his  victorious  invasion  of  Russia, 
where  he  has  conquered  Ivan  the  Cruel,  destroyed  the  cities 
and  overrun  the  country.  The  scene  is  passing  on  the  snow- 
covered  plain,  under  the  walls  of  the  smouldering  city  of 
Pskov,  just  destroyed,  where  the  soldiers,  secretly  induced  by 
the  Jesuit  Possevini,  the  tool  of  Pope  Urban  V.,  compel  the 
kins:  to  cease  advancinsf  and  to  receive  the  bread  and  salt 
from  the  hands  of  the  Muscovite  archbishop.  The  king, 
richly  dressed,  sits  in  the  door  of  his  tent  with  a  stern  look 
npon  his  face.  All  around  are  the  warriors  in  their  half- 
barbarian  armors,  and  with  curiously  ornamented  arms  and 
robes.     In  front  is  the  kneeling  archbishop,  with  the  symbols 


REPORT   OF   MR.    MILLETT.  193 

of  peace  on  a  salver,  and  behind  him  the  Jesuits  crouch  and 
fawn  with  terror  in  their  e_yes,  lest  the  sword  lying  idle  on 
the  knees  of  the  king  shall  find  a  sheath  in  their  own  bodies. 
The  types  are  perfectly  rendered,  the  expressions  are  individ- 
ual and  the  heads  full  of  character.  The  richness  of  the  stuffs 
and  the  variety  of  the  costumes,  the  waving  banners  and  bar- 
baric skin-dresses  and  feather  ornaments,  are  all  painted  with 
hardy  touch  and  picturesquely  combined.  The  third  and  last 
picture  represents  the  harangue  of  the  eloquent  priest  Scarga, 
before  the  kmg  and  his  ministers  in  the  cathedral  at  Cracow. 
In  the  wild,  nervous  gestures  of  the  patriot,  declaiming  with 
all  his  force  against  the  dissolution  of  the  times,  there  is  much 
nature.  As  in  the  other  two  the  compositiqn  is  pleasingly 
original,  but  the  color  is  less  effective  though  the  general  tone 
is  more  harmonious.  In  his  portraits,  of  which  he  exposed 
seven,  Matejko  is  successful  in  so  far  that  he  represents  his 
sitter  with  religious  truth,  often,  it  is  reported,  giving  offence 
by  the  accuracy  of  the  likenesses.  His  love  for  distinctive 
types  of  face,  and  his  wonderful  facilit}^  in  the  delineation  of 
character,  is  plain  in  all  his  portraits.  The  heads  are  often 
brutally  painted,  and  the  tones,  though  strong,  are  not  always 
pleasing.  One  of  his  best  efforts  is  a  group  of  three  Polish 
children  in  their  national  costume.  Broadly  painted,  and 
with  charming  delicacy  of  expression,  it  ranks  among  the 
highest  works  of  the  class  in  the  Exposition.  In  Matejko 
we  have  an  artist  who  does  with  all  his  heart  the  work  he 
aspires  to  do,  and  his  productions  are  stamped  with  the  im- 
press of  spontaneous  artistic  talent ; — an  impulse  to  illustrate, 
that  no  obstacles  delay,  that  urges  him  on  with  a  pow^er  that 
onl}^  finds  satisfaction  in  spirited  compositions  boldly  rendered. 
A  very  skilfully  painted  and  well-drawn  group,  by  Heinrich 
Angeli,  The  Revenger  of  Ms  Honor,  illustrates,  as  the  name 
suggests,  a  scene  full  of  commotion.  The  husband  bursts 
into  the  midst  of  a  dinner-party,  to  find  his  wife  in  the  com- 
pany of  another  gentleman,  and,  after  the  true  romance 
fashion,  runs  his  sw'ord  through  the  adventurer,  who  sinks 
dying  to  the  floor.  The  cavaliers  attempt  to  rush  at  the 
husband  but  are  kept  back  by  his  attendants  ; — a  dramatic 
scene  and  full  of  varied  expressions,  worked  out  with  little 
exaggeration  and  forcing  of  sentiment.     Angeli  also  exposed 

25 


194  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

several  portraits,  one  of  Emperor  Francis  Joseph,  more  notice- 
able for  the  almost  feminine  weakness  of  touch  and  relio-ious 
precision  of  line,  than  for  any  great  force  or  character.  Meis- 
sonier  has  a  diligent  follower,  in  the  person  of  Pettenkofen, 
who  f\urly  flooded  one  room  with  diminutive  panels  of  such 
subjects  as  the  Bathing  Gipsy,  Maiden  under  the  Gate,  and 
like  figures,  expressing  nothing,  and  only  valuable  as  proofs 
of  a  more  than  ordinary  facility.  Some  of  the  tiny  pictures 
were,  nevertheless,  attractive,  but  all  appeal  more  on  the 
score  of  execution  than  sentiment.  The  Hungarian  Shepherd 
Wagon,  a  rude  eart  filled  with  a  rollicking  crowd,  dashing 
along  a  dusty  road,  was  one  of  the  best  of  the  scenes.  In  a 
like  way,  Herbsthofer  recalls  Isabey  in  his  selection  of  sub- 
jects and  in  his  free  execution,  by  no  means  approaching  this 
artist  in  strength  of  color  or  vigor  of  manner.  The  fiijures 
of  Herbsthofer  are  full  of  life  and  touched  with  a  chic  seldom 
found  outside  the  ranks  of  the  French  artists. 

Thoroughly  German  in  its  treatment,  and  charming  in  sen- 
timent, is  The  Fugitives  Caught,  by  Kurzbauer,  a  pupil  of 
Piloty.  The  situation  is  well  chosen.  A  young  couple  are 
surprised  in  a  country  i-nn,  where  they  are  resting  after  the 
fatigues  of  the  first  stage  in  their  elopement  flight,  by  the 
angry  mamma  who  has  followed  them.  The  young  man  rises 
with  a  proud  look  of  mingled  anger  and  disappointment,  and 
the  girl  hides  her  face  in  her  hands  overcome  by  the  unexpected 
presence  of  her  mother,  who  regards  her  with  a  wonderfully 
well  given  expression  of  reproach.  In  the  faces  of  the  assem- 
bled guests  and  the  landlord's  fomily,  is  found  the  same 
masterly  rendering  of  expression,  and  even  to  the  look  of 
utter  irresponsibility  on  the  florid  countenance  of  the  footman 
who  accompanies  the  mother,  every  touch  is  full  of  truth  and 
lite.  In  the  management  of  the  light,  as  well  as  in  the  sober 
color  and  c[uiet  range  of  tone,  are  found  equally  commend- 
able qualities.  Leopold  Miiller  inclines  to  the  school  of  the 
Netherlands  in  his  devotion  to  the  beauties  of  color.  At  the 
Well,  recalls  the  solid,  quiet  gray  paintings  of  several  Dutch 
artists,  and  in  The  Home  Altar,  a  young  girl  kneeling  at  a 
domestic  shrine  and  lighting  the  candles,  there  is  far  more 
enchantment  in  the  beautiful  tones  than  in  the  sentiment. 
William  Koller,  a  pupil  of  Baron  Leys,  suggests  his  master 


REPORT   OF   MR.  MILLETT.  195 

by  an  exaggeration  of  his  faults,  and  one  finds  in  Koller's 
pictures  little  more  than  formal  poses,  rigid  and  hard  contours 
and  feelingless  composition,  coupled  with  some  good  color; — • 
an  acquirement  learned,  but  not  felt  out.  To  pass  by  Canon, 
with  his  too  evident  imitation  of  the  old  Italian  painters,  a 
multitude  of  small  genres  engages  the  attention,  and  in  a 
review  of  the  qualities  that  distinguish  them  all  as  a  mass, 
prettiness  is  found  to  constitute  the  pre-eminent  mark  of  their 
excellence.  Almost  every  incident  of  social  life  had  its  illus- 
tration in  the  Austrian  department,  and  as  I  have  before 
remarked,  there  was  nothing  of  a  national  character  to  dis- 
tinguish these  scenes  from  the  same  subjects  found  elsewhere. 
The  battle  scenes  of  Sigmund  L'Allemand  are  of  remarkable 
excellence.  Quiet  in  color  and  effect,  almost  to  a  fiiult,  they 
appeal  as  truthful  representations  of  tlie  events  of  modern 
Avar.  A  cavalry  charge  was  especially  noticeable.  This 
picture  is  so  full  of  incident,  and  so  unconsciously  true  in  the 
actions  of  the  figures  and  expressions,  that  it  may  be  ranked 
as  the  best  of  the  battle-pieces  shown  in  tlie  Exposition. 
The  natural  variety  of  expression  and  marked  individuality 
of  pose,  are  accompanied  by  no  dramatic,  overdrawn  situa- 
tions but  the  scene  passes  before  the  ej^e  in  its  truest  aspect. 
Lenbach  exposed  both  in  the  German  and  the  Austrian 
department,  but  he  was  better  seen  in  the  latter.  His  por 
trait  of  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  is  too  crude  in  color  to 
be  considered  successful,  though  the  artist  has  given  much  of 
the  rugged  picturesqueness  of  the  face  of  his  imperial  sitter. 
The  list  of  Lenbach's  portraits  embraces  many  types  of  face, 
and  they  are  all  painted  with  wonderful  accuracy  of  tone. 
Some  of  them,  hardly  more  than  rough  sketches,  give  the 
character  of  the  sitter  unexccptionally,  and  are  among  the 
highest  examples  of  portraiture  shown.  Not  less  noticeable 
in  Lenbach's  portraits  is  the  distinguished  depth  of  tone  and 
harmony  in  the  ensemble.  Everything  is  subordinate  to  the 
flesh,  and  w^hile  this  fails  often  to  give  its  rich  and  brilliant 
efi'ect  of  color,  even  in  contrast  with  a  sombre  background 
and  well  massed  drapery  and  accessories,  there  is  always  the 
mark  of  originality  and  power  of  execution  upon  them.  Len- 
bach seems  to  take  in  at  glance  all  the  characteristics  of  his 
model  and  to  suggest  as  much  as  possible  au  premier  coujp. 


196  EXPOSITION    AT   VIENNA. 

After  what  has  been  said  on  German  landscape  painting 
there  remains  little  to  remark  upon  in  the  Austrian  land- 
scapes. In  very  much  the  same  qualities  that  Lier  differs 
from  the  majority  of  German  landscapists,  Charlemont  holds 

place  apart  from  his  compatriots.  The  two  pictures  which 
Qe  exposed  are  delicately  gray  in  tone  and  show  a  fine  feeling 
of  nature.  Somewhat  thinly  painted,  but  strong  in  general 
effect,  they  were  almost  the  only  noticeable  landscapes  in  the 
department.  Eobert  Russ,  a  little  more  scenic  in  his  manner, 
showed  a  series  of  pictures  of  merits  as  widely  distinct  as  the 
localities  that  furnished  the  motives.  A  windmill  in  Rotter- 
dam, not  remarkable  for  truth  of  local  color,  and  the  ensemble 
broken  by  an  injudicious  repetition  of  brilliant  lights,  was, 
nevertheless,  a  relief  to  look  at,  attracting  from  its  strong 
oj)po8itions  and  vigorous  touch.  Schindler's  landscapes  are 
the  reverse  in  treatment,  being  a  trifle  labored,  but  well 
studied  and  composed  with  skill.  The  animal  painters  are 
even  less  numerously  represented  than  the  landscapists,  and 
nothing  particularly  strong  or  strikingly  original  was  shown 
in  this  line.  Ottovan  Thoren,  conceded  to  be  the  best  artist 
of  this  class  in  Austria,  does  not  seem  to  be  so  close  a  student 
of  animals  as  his  reputation  would  lead  one  to  imagine.  Sev- 
eral of  his  sheep  pictures  shown  are  not  disagreeably  defective, 
nor  yet  strong,  and  his  Coio  Attacked  by  Wolves,  has  the 
appearance  of  being  painted  faithfully  after  stuffed  models ; 
the  animals  are  perfectly  stiff"  and  lifeless,  and  the  wo.lf  is 
fairly  pinned  upon  the  cow's  back. 

The  Hungarian  exhibit  was  in  a  separate  room,  and,  though 
small,  was  representative,  and  contained  some  of  the  most 
boldly  original  conceptions  and  most  powerfully  impressive 
works  in  the  Exposition.  The  larger  part  of  the  paintings 
were  conventional  in  treatment,  though  the  motives  were  in 
general  drawn  from  the  national  customs  and  history,  and  the 
few  grand  exceptions  to  the  rule  gave  a  higher  tone  to  the 
whole.  It  was  gratifying  to  see  evidences  of  national  pride 
in  the  numerous  attempts  illustrating  the  peculiar  customs  of 
the  Magyars,  and  the  grand  events  of  their  history.  To  be 
sure,  they  were  often  weak  attempts,  but  the  spirit  that 
prompted  them  was  visible  in  them  all.  Munkacsy  is  a  thor- 
oughly original  painter,  individual  in  his  motives  as  in  his 


REPORT    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  197 

execution,  finding  the  picturesque  among  the  low,  rude  peas- 
antry of  his  country,  and,  by  the  magic  of  his  touch,  making 
the  simplest  object  interesting.  His  execution  is  broad  and 
forcible,  his  color  always  ,gray,  and  often  with  masterly  fine 
distinctions  of  tone  and  skilfully  chosen  oppositions.  He  is 
diiferent  from  the  Netherlanders  in  his  perception  of  the  val- 
ues of  the  lights  as  lights,  for  his  pictures  are  always  marked 
by  a  quietness  of  tone  and  a  strength  of  contrast  much  less 
prominent  than  that  found  in  the  Dutch  pictures.  With  him, 
a  sober  half-tone  takes  the  place  of  the  brilliant,  sparkling, 
flesh  tones  sought  for  by  the  Netherlanders,  and  his  figures 
seem  to  be  in  a  veiled  sunlight,  or  under  a  cloudy  sky.  In 
his  N'ight  Prowlers,  a  squad  of  dirty,  sullen-looking  vaga- 
bonds are  led  along  in  fetters  by  the  gend'armes,  and  the 
people  in  the  streets  point  curiously  at  the  prisoners.  There 
is  hardly  a  contour  in  the  picture,  yet  the  figures  are  drawn 
with  distinguished  skill,  and  the  expressions  are  strongly 
marked, — more  by  vice  than  by  virtue,  to  be  sure,  yet  true 
to  the  life.  In  this  picture,  Munkacsy  is  seen  more  in  his 
element  than  in  the  genres,  where  there  is  little  facial  expres- 
sion, and  perhaps  no  particular  display  of  passion.  His 
rogues  you  do  not  pity,  but  despise,  and  his  honest  people 
have  no  varnish  of  imaginary  perfection,  in  form  or  character. 
He  does  not  impress  by  his  poetical  conceptions,  but  rather 
from  his  forcible  and  piquant  manner  of  telling  a  story,  leav- 
ing it  to  work  its  own  effect  on  the  spectator.  He  exposed 
one  landscape,  rather  wanting  in  atmosphere,  but  rich  in  fine 
autumnal  grays.  The  finest  portraits  were  by  L.  Horovitz. 
One,  of  a  young  lady,  was  especially  attractive,  from  its  nat- 
ural grace  of  pose  and  beautiful  sweetness  of  expression,  and 
all  were  delicate  in  tone  and  contour,  characteristic  in  truth 
in  rather  a  studied  way.  Unexpected  and  forcible  arguments 
against  Catholicism  were  the  cartoons  of  Zichy, — the  boldest 
conceptions  and  the  most  eloquently  expressed  ideas  in  this 
department.  Christ  and  the  Priests  is  an  interpretation  of  a 
religious  question  rarely  illustrated.  The  Saviour  appears  in 
a  blaze  of  light,  welcoming  with  his  right  hand  the  heatlien, 
the  Protestants,  the  persecuted,  and  the  champions  of  free- 
dom, among  whom  are  seen  Garibaldi,  raising  the  Italian, 
and  the  typical  American,  freeing  the  negro.     With  his  left 


198  EXPOSITIOX    AT    VIENNA. 

hand,  Christ  repels  the  Pope,  borne  in  state  to  meet  him,  and 
the  priests  and  bishops  turn  amazed,  and,  in  their  terror,  flee. 
Jesuits  gather  up  their  treasures  with  miserly  eagerness,  and 
shrink  away  from  the  radiance  of  the  Saviour.  Fully  as  forci- 
ble in  expression  is  Luther  and  the  Vision.  The  Pope  on  his 
throne,  a  dead  body,  with  a  dagger  sticking  in  its  heart,  a 
nun,  stifling  an  infant,  the  symbols  of  ecclesiastical  power 
and  rank;  at  this  vision,  Luther  rises,  and,  with  a  gesture  of 
the  most  violent  indignation,  raises  his  inkstand  to  hurl  it  at 
the  apparition.  The  stern  face  of  Luther  is  a  study  of  ex- 
pression, successful  in  a  rare  degree,  and  the  force  of  the 
sermon  is  not  lost  hy  indecisive  lines  or  weak  execution. 
Yery  delicately  given  is  Raphael  and  his  3Iodel  in  sepia, 
drawn  with  much  of  the  grace  of  Raphael  himself,  and  full 
of  sentiment.  The  face  and  form  of  the  model  and  the  naked 
infant,  the  pose  of  the  artist,  as,  in  the  warmth  of  his  love, 
he  embraces  the  beautiful  woman,  all  is  so  full  of  refined 
grace,  in  delicate  harmony  with  the  delicate  sentiment  of  the 
scene,  that  it  seems  an  inspiration  from  the  master.  Two 
landscapes  were  shown  by  Meszoly,  of  an  extreme  simplicity 
of  line,  and  equally  unaflfected  qualit}^  of  color,  and  these 
alone  were  of  distinguished  merits. 

There  lies  before  me,  as  I  write,  a  human  hand,  delicately 
carved  in  alabaster.  The  workman  has  used  his  tools  wath 
the  greatest  skill ;  he  has  indicated  the  minute  folds  of  the 
skin,  has  shown  the  prominences  of  the  bones  and  the  lines 
of  the  tendons,  and  has  hollowed  every  dimple.  With  all 
this  care,  he  has  but  feebly  represented  the  human  hand,  and 
the  ornament,  instead  of  pleasing,  shocks  the  eye.  The 
reason  is  evident :  the  proportions  are  all  wrong  ;  the  thumb 
bears  no  relation  in  size  to  the  fingers,  the  phalanges  are  too 
long  for  the  metacarpus,  and  the  movements  are  false  and 
stiff".  In  his  religious  observance  of  detail,  the  w^orkman 
has  failed  in  the  one  great  point — character.  The  roughest 
sketch  in  clay,  with  the  right  proportions,  and  perfect  move- 
ments, is  more  attractive,  a  thousand  times,  than  this  marvel 
of  detail  and  finish.  This  hand  illustrates  perfectly  the  Eng- 
lish system  of  art  instruction.  Li  all  the  English  schools 
carried  on  after  the  South  Kensington  model, — and  indeed  in 
such  other  English  art  institutions  as  have  come  under  my 


EEPORT    OF   MR.    MILLETT.  199 

observation, — this  same  mistaken  system  is  taught  and  em- 
ployed. The  professors  begin  to  instruct  exactly  the  wrong 
end  first ;  they  teach  to  finish,  and  insist  upon  details  l^eforo 
the  pupil  has  learned  to  mass  a  figure,  or  indicate  by  a  few 
lines  the  character  of  the  movement,  and  the  just  proportions. 
Their  models  for  primary  instruction  are  all  after  this  plan, 
and  their  corrections. of  students'  work  all  tend  to  the  devel- 
opment of  this  petty  manner  of  drawing.  No  arguments  are 
necessary  to  prove  the  value  of  a  general  indication  of  the 
character,  as  opposed  to  neglect  of  grand  lines  and  move- 
ments in  the  elaboration  of  minutiae.  A  few  charcoal  lines, 
giving  the  direction  of  the  members,  and  indicating,  in  the 
simplest  way,  the  action  of  a  figure,  are  more  indicative  of  the 
impression  the  figure  makes  upon  the  spectator,  than  the 
most  carefully  studied  drawing  of  the  same  object,  where  the 
grand  lines  fail  and  the  action  is  faulty.  Any  one  who  has 
drawn  the  figure  knows  the  value  of  the  first  few  strokes, 
indicating,  not  the  sum-total  of  the  impression  made  on  the 
mind,  but  the  characteristics  of  it.  Then,  in  teaching,  show 
the  beginner  the  grand  movements  of  the  body,  the  most 
characteristic  contours,  and  the  just  relations  of  the  masses ; 
instruct  him  how  the  directions  of  the  branches  vary  in  dif- 
ferent species  of  trees,  how  the  foliage  is  massed  in  each, 
and  everywhere  insist  on  grand  character  and  simplicity. 
The  importance  of  detail  is  in  general  the  uppermost  idea  in 
the  beginner's  mind,  and  the  instructor  will  rarely  have  to 
insist  on  this  quality  in  beginners'  work.  As  for  finish,  this 
acquirement  comes  of  itself;  certainly  enough  skill  iu  thjp 
direction  will  be  gained  by  the  pupil,  long  before  he  has 
learned  the  grand  lessons  of  his  profession,  Another  fault 
in  English  drawings— common,  however,  with  the  French—^ 
is,  the  absence  of  any  indication  of  the  relations  of  tone,  and 
in  the  Belgian  school  alone  is  this  commonly  insisted  on, 
This  fault  cannot  be  excused  in  a  drawing  where  there  is  any 
attempt  at  effect  of  light,  for  this  suggestion  of  color,  and  its 
accompanying  tone,  is  so  important  a  quality  of  drawing, 
that  even  by  a  simple  contour  one  may  judge  whether  the 
artist  is  a  colorist  or  not.  It  is  undeniable  that  the  eye  may 
be  trained  to  distinguish  relations  of  tone  with  great  pre- 
cision,   even   where    there  is  jio  innate  feeling  for  color  in 


200  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

the  artist,  and  this  vital  element  may  be,  and  should  be 
cultivated. 

This  brief  discussion  of  the  English  system  of  drawing 
was  not  induced  by  the  study  of  the  paintings  shown  in  the 
Exposition,  for  the  display  was  far  from  being  a  representa- 
tive one,  but  from  a  series  of  academic  drawings  exposed  in 
connection  with  the  engravings  and  etchings.  Among  the 
latter  were  a  number  of  masterly  ones  by  Whistler,  who, — 
an  American,  as  every  one  probably  knows, — is  one  of  the 
strongest  figures  in  the  English  school,  if  indeed  he  can  be 
said,  with  his  prominent  originality,  to  rank  there. 

Among  the  English  paintings  exposed  there  were  many  old 
friends,  familiar  to  every  one  by  photographs  and  engravings, 
and  the  simple  mention  of  these  will  recall  their  remarkable 
qualities.  The  English  pictures,  as  a  whole,  are  marked  by 
a  surpassing  delicacy  of  sentiment,  and  the  stories  are  told 
with  a  great  deal  of  poetry.  An  execution  at  pace  with  the 
artistic  sentiments  and  power  of  expression — qualities  by  no 
means  rare  among  English  artists — would  add  to  the  impress- 
ibility of  their  works.  The  faults  of  their  execution  lie  not 
in  the  ability  to  finish,  but  in  the  lack  of  freedom  and  spon- 
taneity, and  labored  and  feminine  treatment  is  often  seen  in 
the  illustration  of  a  most  bold  and  masculine  idea.  Thomas 
Faed's  Last  of  the  Clan,  and  his  God's  Acre,  were  both 
shown,  and  the  sight  of  them  awakens  ever  new  interest.  In 
the  former,  a  shaggy  old  Scotchman,  mounted  on  a  Highland 
pony  scarcely  more  rough  and  more  scraggy  than  himself, 
and  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  genuine  natives,  their  faces 
full  of  warm  sympathy  and  anxious  attention,  stands  on  the 
pier  to  salute  departing  friends,  so  far  as  one  can  gather  from 
the  somewhat  uncertain  situation.  There  is  a  touch  of  nature 
about  every  figure,  and  so  much  individuality  and  unpretend- 
ing character,  that  it  is  always  new  and  ever  attractive.  The 
two  little  children  in  the  latter  picture,  standing  on  the  brink 
of  a  newly  made  grave,  is  quite  as  delicately  expressed,  and 
both  are  painted  without  pretence,  but  with  extraordinary 
skill.  Full  of  communicative  humor  is  the  fece  of  the  rough 
Irishman  in  Tlie  China  Merchant,  by  Erskine  Nicol,  and  the 
face  of  the  daughter,  as  she  chaffs  with  a  customer,  while  her 
father    displays    the    crockery,    is    a   direct   transcript    from 


EEPORT   OF   ME.    MILLETT.  201 

nature.  O'Neil's  Eastward  Ho !  the  farewells  of  wives  and 
sweethearts  to  the  departing  soldiers  on  shipboard  is  notice- 
able for  similar  careful  study  of  type  and  almost  irreproach- 
able treatment.  Turning  to  a  class  of  pictures  more  serious 
in  their  nature,  the  Last  Sleej)  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  by 
Ward,  with  its  fine  effect  of  light,  conceived  and  handled 
with  honest  feeling,  gains  on  a  fresh  acquaintance.  John 
Phillips'  Dying  Contrahandista  has  less  of  the  unpretending 
simplicity  of  the  works  above  mentioned,  for  the  situation  is 
dramatic,  though  finely  rendered,  and  the  complication  of 
resources  is  extremely  well  managed.  A  class  of  paintings 
not  to  be  ranked  with  those  already  spoken  of,  but  to  a 
stranger  representing  the  generality  of  the  English  produc- 
tions, is  marked  by  an  uncertainty  of  touch,  a  hesitating 
manner  of  execution,  just  the  reverse  of  the  solid  and  hearty 
Dutch  method.  Pool's  Spirit  Hunter,  inspired  from  Decam- 
eron, is  a  good  example  of  this  class.  The  figures  of  a  pic- 
nic party,  terrified  at  the  approach  of  the  ghostly  cavalier, 
are  quite  as  thin  and  unsubstantial  as  the  spirit  that  frightens 
them,  and  the  landscape  has  the  same  vaporous,  unreal  ap- 
pearance. J.  C.  Hook,  who  enjoys  a  wide  reputation  as  a 
painter  of  fishermen,  exposed  some  good,  honest  work,  but 
his  pictures  are  so  awkwardly  composed  that  they  are  not 
altogether  attractive.  A  part  of  a  sail,  a  section  of  a  fishing- 
boat,  and  a  fisher-boy  trimming  down  the  sheet,  and  this  at 
an  angle  with  the  frame,  neither  deceives  or  pleases  the  eye. 
There  is,  however,  much  freshness  in  the  water,  and  good, 
solid  perspective  of  tone  ;  then  besides  having  these  qualities, 
the  pictures  are  freely  touched.  Neither  intimately  sympa- 
thetic with  the  fisherman,  or  conversant  with  the  most  poet- 
ical phases  of  his  life.  Hook  should  be  called  a  painter  of  the 
sea  rather  than  of  fishermen,  for  the  landscape  is  always  the 
strongest  part  of  his  pictures,  and  his  weakly-drawn  figures 
are  often  completely  subordinate  to  it. 

Orchardson  and  Pettie  have  both  found  motives  from 
Shakespeare,  the  former  showing  Falstaif  and  the  latter 
Touchstone  and  Audrey.  Remarkable  more  for  delicate 
color  than  for  force  of  execution,  these  pictures  are  charm- 
ingly felt  and  the  figures  well  in  character.  Elmore  is  quite 
the  contrary  in  his  manner.     His  Leonore,  with  the  galloping 

26 


202  EXPOSITION    AT    VIEXXA. 

horse  and  his  double  burden,  the  crowds  of  spectre  followers, 
and  the  weird  effect,  is  more  solidly  painted,  though 
monotonous  in  color.  From  this  latter  fault  the  artist  has 
escaped  in  his  On  the  Housetops,  an  oriental  scene ;  but  in 
this  he  is  less  hardy  in  treatment  and  w^eaker  in  expression. 
Leighton  stands  almost  alone  in  his  poetical  feeling  for  color 
and  the  unobtrusive  interest  of  his  characters.  After  the 
Vespers,  a  simple,  half-length  study  of  a  young  girl,  is  as 
quietly  appealing  in  sentiment  as  it  is  sober  and  delicate  in 
color.  In  the  way  of  liliputian  figures,  the  Ramsgate  Sands 
of  Frith  is  quite  as  complete  and  perfect  a  work  of  this  kind 
as  one  could  wish  to  see,  though  not  equalling  his  more 
famous  Derhy  Day.  The  pleasure-seekers,  multiplied  to 
thousands,  are  each  studied  with  conscientious  care  and  in 
their  petty  way  are  amusing  enough.  Fortunately  for  the 
subject,  the  artist  has  not  limited  his  study  to  the  poses 
alone,  but  has  given  a  wonderful  individuality  of  character  to 
each  of  the  minute  heads.  Two  oriental  scenes  by  John  F. 
Lewis,  The  Suspicious  Coin,  and  A  Street  in  Cairo,  are 
exceptionally  strong  in  color,  but  are  a  little  glassy  from  their 
extreme  finish.  The  camels,  in  the  latter  picture,  appear 
covered  with  eel-skin,  and  the  former,  a  Turkish  bazaar,  with 
its  picturesque  occupants  and  wealth  of  drapery,  wondeifully 
vigorous  and  rich  in  color,  loses  from  its  almost  metallic 
lustre. 

In  portraiture,  Millais,  with  a  full  length  of  a  little  girl, 
and  a  group  of  three  sisters,  occupied  the  most  prominent 
place.  There  is  a  great  deal  attractive  about  his  representa- 
tion of  little  Miss  Lehman,  but  even  the  charmingly-caught, 
half-pouting  expression  on  the  delicate  features  is  not  a  lasting 
offset  to  the  unpleasant  chalkiness  of  general  tone,  which 
grows,  on  acquaintance,  into  an  evident  fault.  The  pose  is 
charmingly  naive  and  unconscious.  Millais  has  found  his 
model  in  the  conservatory,  and  has  painted  her  sitting  on  a 
large  green  porcelain  jar,  swinging  one  foot  in  true  school- 
girl impatience,  and  both  hands  in  her  lap,  idly  playing  with 
a  rose.  The  drapery  is  all  white,  the  floor  is  of  white  mar- 
ble, and,  relieved  against  it  by  a  fine  distinction  of  tone,  are 
two  white  doves.  The  group  of  the  three  young  girls  is  less 
j)leasing  as  portraiture  and  richer  in  color  j  the  faces  are  very 


EEPORT    or   MR.    MILLETT.  203 

refined  and  beautiful,  and  well  drawn  as  well;  but  the  arms 
are  carelessly  modelled,  and  arranged  with  a  painful  repeti- 
tion of  the  right  angle.  Sir  Francis  Grant's  portrait  has 
little  to  recommend  it  iji  drawing  or  color,  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  J.  Archer's  portrait  of  a  lady  in  white.  An  Old 
Student,  by  J.  P.  Knight,  is  a  characteristic  study-head,  and 
James  Sant's  portrait  of  Master  Wilson-Patten  is  a  strong 
one.  One  can  but  regret  the  absence  of  better  representative 
portraits,  the  existence  of  which  is  hinted  at  by  those  above 
noticed. 

The  landscapes  numbered  very  few.  It  was  not  surprising 
to  find  Turner's  Walton  Bridges  among  them,  and  it  was  not 
encouraging  to  turn  from  this  to  the  more  modern  works. 
P.  Graham  sent  A  Freshet  in  the  Highlands,  breezy  and 
moist,  with  a  fine  cloud  effect  and  well-painted  water,  and 
Vicat  Cole  was  represented  by  Evening,  a  crudely  yellow, 
unatmospheric  twilight,  not  altogether  wanting  in  feeling,  but 
false  in  tone.  R.  Ansdell,  who  paints  quite  as  convention- 
ally as  any  one  else,  exposed  a  sheep  picture,  and  as  no 
exhibition  would  be  complete  Avithout  a  Landseer,  Queen 
Victoria  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  contributed  The  Sanctuari/ ^ 
The  Arab's  Tent,  and  the  artist's  portrait  of  himself.  A 
large  room  was  hung  with  water-colors,  and  most  of  the  well- 
known  artists  were  represented.  Newton's  Evening  Shades 
was  perhaps  the  most  charming  bit  there,  although  the  histor- 
ical pieces  by  Sir  John  Gilbert,  familiar  through  the  engrav- 
ings, are  almost  beyond  reproach.  Two  of  Harper's  much 
talked  of  oriental  scenes  were  also  shown,  remarkable  only 
for  a  decidedly  original  pea-green  general  tone. 

Italian  art  in  all  its  frivolity,  weakness  and  conventionalism, 
was  represented  by  a  large  display  of  statuary  and  a  tiresome 
number  of  paintings.  The  rooms  of  the  pavilion  occupied  by 
the  Italian  exhibit,  were  hung  with  a  succession  of  mediocre 
productions  of  almost  endless  variety  of  execution  and  sub- 
ject, but  of  about  the  same  relative  merits.  The  main  object 
of  the  Italian  artists  is  evidently  to  cover  as  many  canvases 
as  possible  during  the  dull  season,  in  order  to  be  ready  for 
the  next  influx  of  visitors.  The  mercenary  character  of  this 
sort  of  v/ork  was  indelibly  impressed  on  a  large  proportion 
of  the  pictures  shown,  and  in  the  midst  of  so  much  indifferent 


204  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

material,  the  task  of  winnowing  out  the  chaff  and  preserving 
the  grain  was  a  laborious  one.  To  be  sure  it  repaid  the 
trouble,  for  there  were  some  most  excellent  pictures  with  this 
mass  of  apprentice  work ;  but  the  trade  of  artist  is  too  easily 
learned  in  Italy  to  warrant  the  expectation  of  an  exhibit  of  a 
higher  rank  than  the  one  sent  to  Vienna.  It  may  be  that  the 
proportion  of  meritorious  works  in  the  Italian  department 
was  not  very  much  smaller  than  that  in  some  other  depart- 
ments, but  the  range  of  mediocrity  was  much  lower,  and  the 
evidences  of  artistic  talent  less  marked  in  the  general  tone  of 
the  pictures.  Motives  were  sought  by  the  artists  in  the  most 
trivial  incidents,  with  here  and  there  inspiration  from  modern 
history ;  and  even  the  ancient  divinities  were  resurrected  to 
furnish  themes  for  a  feeble  brush.  The  general  quality  of 
color  was,  as  might  be  expected,  more  florid  than  in  the  most 
of  other  exhibits,  and  the  finer  qualities  of  color  or  tone  were 
rare. 

In  the  attempts  to  paint  the  nude,  the  Italians  are  less 
successful  than  the  French,  and  there  were  a  great  many 
meaningless  nudities  in  the  Italian  department  more  vapid 
and  more  shallow  than  the  weakest  of  the  French  poses.  La 
Signora  cli  3Ionza,  by  Moses  Bianchi,  was  an  oasis  in  the 
waste  of  feelingless  illustrations  that  surround  it.  A  young 
nun,  her  face  full  of  anxious  supplication,  sits  with  her  hands 
clasped  in  an  attitude  of  earnest  prayer  ; — a  very  simple  figure, 
delicate  in  expression,  and  a  harmonious  tone  of  rich  sober  grays 
in  the  picture.  The  powerful  handling  of  the  artist,  and  his 
fine  feeling  for  color,  was  equally  well  shown  in  The  Prayer, 
a  church  interior  with  figures,  and  The  Singing  Lesson,  a 
stupid  set  of  choir  boys  practising  their  singing  parts 
under  the  direction  of  a  snuffy  old  master ; — a  picture  with  a 
beautifully  managed  effect.  Another  light  effect,  artistically 
handled,  was  seen  in  the  Lispection  of  the  Fiancee,  by  Robert 
Fontana.  It  illustrates  the  custom  prevalent  in  some  parts 
of  Eussia,  of  submitting  the  intended  bride  to  the  criticism 
of  a  sort  of  committee  of  women.  The  graceful  young  girl 
stands  naked  in  the  full  light  of  the  window,  before  a  bench- 
ful  of  official  looking  matrons  ; — a  story  told  modestly  and 
with  taste.  Antonio  Rotta's  contribution  was  not  one  of  his 
best  efforts,  and,  judging  from  the  Poor  Mamma  alone,  a 


REPORT    OF   MR.    MILLETT.  205 

young  girl  pawning  the  portrait  of  her  dead  mother,  his 
reputation,  which  is  a  fortune  to  him,  seems  unfounded.  It 
is  treated  m  unmistakably  German  style.  The  pictures  of 
Domiuico  Induno  are  marked  by  a  rare  facility  of  execution. 
His  Too  Late  is  beautifully  painted,  and  the  individual  heads 
perfect  in  character.  This  picture  is  essentially  a  social  one, 
and  the  subject  not  old.  The  young  bride  is  in  the  hands  of 
her  maids,  who  put  the  last  touches  to  her  toilet.  The  anxious 
papa,  watch  in  hand,  is  evidently  muttering  curses  at  the 
delay  of  the  groom,  while  the  mamma  and  the  guests  are  more 
politely  impatient.  There  is  no  afl'ectation  of  expression  in 
pose,  and  it  attracts  from  its  truthful  simplicity.  There  is 
some  excellent  color  in  Capriani's  courtyard,  with  monks  and 
servants,  and  very  skilful  handling  ;  also  in  the  Pigeon  Feed- 
ing in  Venice,  by  Faecioli,  a  scene  familiar  to  every  one  who 
has  visited  that  city.  The  doves  in  their  confusing  movement 
are  especially  well  indicated.  There  w^ere  a  large  number  of 
portraits,  and  Victor  Emanuel  and  the  Princess  Marguerite 
figured  frequently  in  rigid  poses  and  formal  costumes.  In 
landscape  there  was  a  great  deal  of  the  German  influence 
visible.  A  twilight,  by  Pasini,  with  a  good  deal  of  feeling 
of  fading  light,  aud  another  by  the  Cavalier  Formis,  a  boating 
party  on  a  lake,  were  both  noticeable.  The  review  of  the 
Italian  landscape,  without  a  mention  of  the  Campagna,  would 
be  a  rare  anomaly.  This  ever-fertile  theme  was  interpreted 
with  an  unusually  strong  touch  and  a  hearty  admiration  for 
brusque  oppositions,  by  Vertunni,  who  sent  a  series  of  broadly 
painted  landscapes  of  varied  subject,  all  with  remarkable 
qualities  of  light,  but  a  trifle  scenic  in  the  rudeness  of  the 
contrasts. 

In  Russian  art,  as  seen  at  Vienna,  there  is  a  prominent 
national  character.  The  influence  of  the  French  school  was 
particularly  noticeable  in  some  cases,  but  the  majority  of  the 
pictures  were  essentially  Russian  in  motive  aud  in  expression. 
The  artistic  taste  developed  in  Russia,  seems  to  turn  aside 
from  the  acknowledged  channels,  and  to  find  the  greatest 
pleasure  in  new  and  characteristic  ideas.  Especially  is  this 
true  in  ornamentation  and  the  decorative  art ;  the  works  of 
the  best  painters  are  not  marked  by  eminent  originality  or 
national  character,  but  the  mass  of  artists  have  an  unmistak- 


206  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

able  admiration  for  the  peculiarities  of  type  and  costume  of 
their  people,   and  their  productions   are   for  the   most  part 
every  inch  Russian.     The  pictures  of  Wladimir  E.  Makovsky 
possess  these  qualities  of  national  character  in  a  superlative 
degree.     The  most  prominent  among  them  was  Butterweek, 
a  scene  at  the  annual  fair  in  Saint  Petersburg.     It  is  a  cold 
winter's  day,  the  ground  snow-covered,  the  air  full  of  frost, 
and  the   smoke  hugging  the   earth   and  adding  to  the  chill 
aspect  of  the  streets.     In  the  background  are  seen  through 
the  smoky  atmosphere  the  outlines  of  large  buildings,  and  a 
row  of  multi-colored  booths  runs  back  into  the  distance.     In 
front  is  an  immense  crowd,  all  intent  in  the  diverse  amuse- 
ments ajfforded  by  the  shivering  clowns  and  ballet-dancers, 
who  can  scarcely  leave  off  hugging  their  fingers  long  enough 
to  play  their  brief  parts  outside  to  attract  the  pleasure-seek- 
ers into  the  warm  tent.     The  little  stands  of  the  sellers  of  hot 
tea  are  besieged  by  the  thinly-clad  showmen,  and  the  steaming 
drink  warms  many  a  shivering  body.     Everywhere  is  present 
the  pinching,  piercing    cold,  and  the  accompanying  love  of 
w^armth  possesses  each  heart.      In  the  multitude  of  people 
we  find  every  class,  from  the   coarsely-clad  peasant  to  the 
noble  in  his  rich  robes,  or  the  man  of  fashion  ogling  the  ladies 
with  the  air  of  a  true  snob.     Incidents  are  superabundant, 
and  from  this  single  picture  one  could  draw  a  thousand  mo- 
tives.    Aside  from  the  general  aspect  of  the  scene,  there  is 
an  endless  source  of  interest  in  the  multitude  of  figures,  each 
of  which  is  a  masterly  representation  of  type  and  national 
peculiarities.     Another  very  typical    illustration  of   Russian 
customs  is  Toiving  on  the  Wolga,  by  E.  E.  Riepin.     A  mot- 
ley row   of  laborers,   leaning  on   the  broad  bands  that  are 
attached  to  the  tow-rope  of  a  Chinese  junk,  march   slowly 
along  the  flat  river-bank  with  that  listless  patience  common 
to  their  class.     The  landscape  is  dry  and  burning  ;  the  strong, 
hot  light  of  a  southern  sun  beats  down  upon  the  gang  and 
casts   cool  shadows   upon  the   dusty  track.     Each  figure  is 
marked  by  individuality  of  pose  or  gesture,  from  the  shock- 
headed  burly  felloAV  in  the  front,  to  the  tall,  slim  youth  adjust- 
ing the  belt  across  his  chafed  breast,  and,  though  not  strong 
in   color,  there   are  very  good  qualities   of  drawing  in  the 
group. 


REPORT   OF   MR.    MILLETT.  207 

Karl  Huhn  is  perhaps  the  most  eminent  artist  who  contri- 
hiitecl  to  the  display,  but  he  was  only  feebly  represented. 
One  of  his  favorite  subjects  was  shown,  The  Evening  of  the 
Night  of  Saint  Bartholomew,  a  noble  engaged  in  pinning  the 
white  cross  upon  his  hat,  and  also  by  two  small  interiors. 
The  skill  of  the  artist  is  undeniable,  his  handling  fully  equal- 
ling and  much  resembling  that  of  some  of  the  best  French 
and  Belgian  painters,  but  in  the  pictures  shown  the  superior 
execution  was  tlieir  best  quality.  Among  a  large  number  of 
pictures,  little  remarkable  for  fine  tones,  the  broadly  painted 
genres  of  Charlamoff  are  pre-eminent  for  refinement  and 
delicacy  of  color.  His  Music  Lesson  was  a  sweet  melodious 
strain  in  itself,  the  ke}^  low  but  beautifuly  harmonious,  and 
the  notes  forcibly  struck.  These  genres  begin  the  list  of  a 
varied  and  interesting  series  —  interesting,  because  illus- 
trating the  curious  customs  of  the  Eussian  peasantry,  but 
little  remarkable  as  works  of  art.  It  would  hardly  be  ex- 
pected to  find  such  facility  among  the  Eussian  artists  as  was 
seen  in  the  numerous  pictures  of  the  liliputian  size,  finished 
with  almost  the  skill  of  the  old  Dutch  painters.  Among  these 
there  were  several  interiors  of  monasteries  with  monks,  and 
battle-pieces  with  thousands  of  minute  figures,  curiosities  of 
patient  labor  and  little  else.  Of  portraiture  several  strong 
examples  were  shown.  A  Eussian  noble,  in  an  overcoat  lined 
with  bearskin,  is  the  best  of  the  series  exposed  by  Johann  P. 
Koehler.  The  head  is  finely  drawn  and  the  fur  painted  with 
a  skill  rarely  equalled. 

Sweden,  Norway  and  Denmark  displayed  all  together  quite 
a  large  collection  of  representative  works,  not  particularly 
attractive  as  a  mass,  but  with  many  productions  of  merit. 
The  general  character  of  the  pictures  difiered  very  little  from 
the  German  works,  but  here  and  there  could  be  seen  an  ex- 
ample of  pure  French  influence,  and  an  occasional  inspiration 
from  the  school  of  the  Netherlands.  The  landscape  and  ma- 
rine branches  of  art  flourish  in  a  most  healthy  manner,  and 
the  genres,  and  more  especially  the  salon  pictures,  have  com- 
paratively few  devotees.  What  there  is  of  genre  is  generally 
serious  enough,  and  if  inspired  by  national  peculiarities,  is 
interesting  more  than  picturesque.  Few  of  the  genres  exposed 
were  from  home  motives,  and  the  best  ones  were  not  distinct- 


208  EXPOSITIOX    AT    VIENNA. 

ively  Scandinavian  in  their  inspiration.  The  Danish  display 
was  the  largest  of  the  three.  Several  genres,  by  Professor 
Carl  Bloch,  were  the  most  attractive  pictures  in  the  collec- 
tion. For  example,  a  girl  sitting  in  the  caudle-light  was 
painted  with  exceptional  fidelity,  and  was  remarkable  for 
truth  of  the  light  efiect.  Two  or  three  comical  incidents  in 
the  life  of  the  monks  were  also  beautifully  painted  and  full  of 
expression.  The  marines,  as  may  be  remarked  also  in  the 
displays  of  Norway  and  Sweden,  were  painted  with  more 
nautical  knowledge  than  feeling  for  art,  and,  with  one  or  two 
notable  exceptions,  were  of  little  interest.  In  Anton  Melbye's 
marines  was  seen  strong  color  and  well  drawn  wave  forms, 
with  a  good  sentiment  of  the  picturesque.  The  quieter  and 
grayer  canvases  of  Carl  Sorensen  are  painted  with  almost 
equal  skill  but  less  strength  of  effect. 

A  very  large  and  gothic  illustration,  of  an  event  in  the  life 
of  King  Erich  XIV.,  inspired  in  treatment  by  the  faults  of 
Baron  Leys,  not  strong  in  color  but  with  a  certain  force  of 
expression,  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  Swedish  gal- 
lery. The  author,  Count  George  von  Rosen,  exposed  several 
other  less  pretentious  canvases,  almost  the  only  noteworthy 
figure  pieces  in  the  collection.  A  very  hard  and  somewhat 
crudely  colored  market  scene  in  Dlisseldorf,  by  A.  Jernberg, 
with  one  or  two  smaller  pictures,  may  be  ranked  as  the  repre- 
sentative genre.  Alfred  Wahlberg's  landscapes  were  superior 
to  anything  shown  in  the  pavilion,  and  were  hardly  rivalled 
by  similar  works  in  the  other  halls.  His  Motive  from  West- 
gotland  is  strong  in  color  and  abounding  in  a  fine  sentiment 
unique  among  his  compatriots.  Quiet  water,  with  marshy 
islands,  a  clump  of  trees  in  the  middle,  with  straggling  birches 
stretching  out  their  branches  on  all  sides,  a  charming  bit  of 
hillside  distance  and  a  bright  airy  sky ;  this  is  the  landscape 
briefly  described.  Broadly  painted,  with  a  firm  drawn  and 
well-massed  foliage,  the  picture  gives  all  the  multitudinous 
twinkle  of  the  trees,  the  complex  reflections  of  sky  and  foliage 
and  without  a  detail,  yet  all  there  with  the  freshness  and 
brio;htness  of  nature.  Wahlberg  does  not  so  much  account 
for  the  phenomena  of  nature  as  suggest  the  same  as  they 
impress  him.  The  qualities  of  light  and  its  charming  play 
among  the  foliage,  this  is  his  especial  delight. 


REPOET   OF   MR.    MILLETT.  209 

Totally  unlike  the  generality  of  Diisseldorf  landscapes  are 
the  pictures  of  L.  Munthe,  who,  it  is  hard  to  believe,  paints 
in  that  city  of  artistic  conventionalism.  After  a  study  of  his 
two  strong  landscapes,  shown  in  the  Norwegian  section,  one 
is  forced  to  admit  that  much  good  can  come  out  of  Diisseldorf. 

Both  these  pictures  were  inspired  by  a  similar  feeling  for 
the  mournful  phases  of  the  landscape.  One  of  them,  a  win- 
ter scene,  chill  and  drear,  doubtless  a  motive  from  one  of 
the  plains  of  Norway,  is  especially  strong  in  color.  Half- 
melted  snow  covers  the  ground,  and  the  footprints  in  the  road 
are  dark  and  full  of  water.  The  sky  is  sombre  and  dreary, 
and  the  snow  has  a  sympathetic  tone.  A  brilliant  streak  of 
chill  light  in  the  horizon  makes  the  landscape  still  more  sad, 
and  faintly  touches  the  cluster  of  low  houses  in  the  distance 
and  the  shivering  figures  fishing  throusfh  the  ice  in  the  fore- 
ground.  There  is  complete  harmony  of  the  tones  with  the 
subject.  A  hillside  in  autumn,  peasants  gathering  potatoes, 
a  network  of  bare  branches  and  broAvn  foliage  against  the  sky. 
This  is  the  other  landscape  full  of  mournful  indications  of 
coming  winter  joined  with  all  the  beauties  of  harvest-time. 

In  the  marines  there  is  less  to  commend  than  anions:  the 
Danish  pictures.  H.  G.  Schanche  contributed  several  sea- 
coast  views,  true  in  tone,  but  not  altogether  felicitous  in  com- 
position. Two  church  interiors,  by  V.  Lerche,  were  remark- 
able for  luminous  effect  and  good  color.  If  exceptions  be 
made  in  favor  of  the  Bridal  Party  in  the  Forest^  by  Fidern, 
essentially  German  in  every  respect,  there  was  scarcely  a 
noticeable  figure  piece  in  the  Norwegian  collection. 

Greece  sent  but  very  few  pictures,  and  among  them  the 
works  of  N.  Lutrax  were  the  only  ones  having  special  merits. 
These  pictures  were  surprisingly  original  in  conception  and 
in  treatment.  One  of  them  illustrates  the  burning  of  a  Turk- 
ish frigate,  with  a  boatful  of  Greek  sailors  rowing  away  in 
the  foreground.  Although  the  position  of  the  rowers  is  in 
the  most  diflicult  foreshortening,  the  drawino-  and  modellino; 
are  excellent,  and  the  color  surprisingly  rich.  A  thorough 
Greek  in  his  likes  and  dislikes,  the  artist  gave  also  a  group 
of  Greek  children,  singing  to  drum  and  fife  accompaniment, 
painted  with  a  strong  hand  and  full  of  character. 

It  may  be  gathered  from  the  preceding  pages  that  with  the 

27 


210  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

exception  of  the  galleries  of  France,  the  Netherlands  and 
England,  really  impressive  pictures  were  rare  in  the  Art 
Hall.  I  come  now  to  speak  of  a  collection  that  must  have 
appealed  to  every  American  at  least,  our  own  display  of  pic- 
tures. Impressive  these  works  certainly  were,  but,  unfortu- 
nately, disagreeably  so.  Very  limited  in  numbers,  the  pictures 
sent  represented  art  in  America  even  in  a  less  degree  than 
our  meagre  display  in  the  Industrial  Palace  gave  an  idea  of 
the  industries  and  trade  of  America.  Without  entering  upon 
the  history  of  the  formation  of  this  collection, — an  experience 
it  will  be  well  to  profit  by  in  the  future, — a  brief  review  of 
the  pictures  sent  will  satisfy  those  interested  in  art,  not 
especially  as  American  art,  but  in  universal  art  with  its  ac- 
knowledo-ed  standard  of  merit,  that  it  would  have  been  far 
better  for  our  artistic  reputation  if  we  had  not  figured  in  the 
Art  Hall.  One  of  the  wisest  movements  of  the  Commission 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Schulz,  was  to  declare  the  art  exhibit 
unworthy  a  place  among  the  other  displays  of  pictures,  and 
only  at  a  very  late  hour,  and  after  a  great  deal  of  persuasion, 
was  the  Commission  induced  to  hang  the  pictures  at  all.  Ex- 
ceptions were,  however,  always  made  in  favor  of  the  land- 
scapes of  Bierstadt  and  McElkins,  and  of  Healy's  portraits. 

Pius  IX.,  by  Healy,  hung  in  the  Belgian  annexe,  and  com- 
pared very  favorably  with  Gallait's  portrait  of  the  same  per- 
sonage. In  the  other  portraits  Healy  was  seen  less  favorably, 
for  they  were  neither  remarkable  for  richness  of  color  or 
strength  of  line.  T.  S.  Noble's  JoJin  Brown,  represents,  as 
the  name  indicates,  an  event,  or  at  least  an  imagined  event,  in 
the  life  of  this  patriot.  On  his  way  to  the  gallows,  under  a 
squad  of  soldiers,  in  the  dress  of  Revolutionary  times,  he 
stretches  out  a  rather  unanatomical  hand  to  bless  a  little  negro 
child,  supported  by  the  very  peculiarly  constructed  arm  of  its 
mother.  It  is  unhappily  conceived,  weak  and  monotonous  in 
color,  awkwardly  composed,  and  without  the  saving  graces  of 
a  good  drawing  or  passable  relief.  Still,  by  the  side  of  the 
genres  of  Henry  Mossier,  John  Brown  is  a  triumph  of  art. 
These  genres  were  from  home  motives ;  there  is  no  question 
about  the  locality  of  the  source  of  their  inspiration.  A  com- 
panion pair,  called  The  Lost  Cause,  was  especially  prominent 
from  the  lack  of  all  good  qualities.    In  the  first,  a  young  farmer 


EEPOET    OF   MR.    MILLETT.  211 

is  dancing  along  the  road  in  a  peculiar  manner,  with  his  gun 
upon  his  shoulder,  waving  good  bye  to  his  weeping  family  at  the 
door  of  the  log-house  in  the  distance.  In  the  sequel,  dressed  in 
the  gray,  he  is  leaning  on  his  gun  at  the  door  of  the  deserted 
cabin,  in  a  pensive  attitude.  Very  pretentious  in  size,  and 
jDainful  in  color,  are  both  of  these,  but  yet  more  pleasing  than 
Too  Late,  a  tardy  boy  under  the  hands  of  the  stern  school- 
master, or  a  little  girl  playing  cat's  cradle  with  her  grandpapa. 
The  mention  of  these  genres  may  be  excused  from  the  fact  that 
the  price  set  upon  them  was  higher  than  that  demanded  for  first- 
class  European  work.  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  any  American 
was  so  patriotic,  or  any  foreigner  so  foolish,  as  to  invest  in 
them.  Marcus  Waterman's  Gulliver  in  Lilijput  is  not  alto- 
gether devoid  of  interest.  It  amused  thousands  of  children 
and  nurses  during  the  Exposition.  Bierstadt's  pictures,  which, 
with  Healy's  portraits,  were  the  only  American  artistic  pro- 
ductions honored  with  a  medal,  were  hung  very  high  in  the 
Salon  (THonneur,  a  position  not  calculated  to  improve  them. 
By  the  Emerald  Pool  and  the  American  Landscape,  this  artist 
was  well  represented  in  all  the  vagaries  of  his  impossible  per^ 
spective  and  want  of  masculine  effect.  The  foregrounds  are 
trivial,  the  distances  impossible,  the  local  color  and  general 
tone  as  false  as  the  perspective.  For  all  that  is  visible  in 
their  composition  or  treatment,  they  might  as  w^ell  have  been 
painted  in  Diisseldorf.  They  are  dry,  tricky  and  conventional, 
and  have  no  charms  of  color.  In  McElkins'  Mount  /Shasta, 
there  is  at  least  a  greater  sense  of  the  value  of  correct  oppo- 
sitions, and  a  hint  of  nature's  grandeur  in  effect  and  line. 
The  remarks  about  German  landscapes  apply  equally  well  to 
those  above  mentioned,  and  besides  these  there  were  several 
small  and  passably  meritorious  bits  shown. 


The  Sculpture  in  the  Exposition  was  a  disappointment  to 
every  lover  of  true  art;  not  that  there  were  no  good  produc- 
tions in  this  branch  of  art,  but  the  proportion  of  even  medi- 
ocre works  to  the  whole  mass  was  very  small,  and  in  this 
short  list  the  really  excellent  examples  may  be  counted  on 
the  fingers.     The  sculpture  of  the  present  day  seems  to  be 


212  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

going  hand  in  hand  with  the  fashions,  and  cases  are,  nnfortu- 
nately,  far  from  rare  where  the  artist  has  debased  his  material 
in  the  perpetuation  of  an  idea,  of  a  pose,  of  a  costume,  that 
would  do  no  credit  to  the  rudest  clay  that  was  ever  worked 
by  the  hand  of  a  sculptor.  The  same  taste  that  inspires  the 
florid  decoration  of  every  object  that  will  bear  ornamentation, 
that  disfigures  the  human  form  by  supplementing  shapeless 
masses  to  its  graceful  contours,  and  entirely  contradicts  the 
first  idea  of  drapery,  the  same  taste  that  encourages  and 
stimulates  all  that  is  artificial  and  imitative  in  opposition  to 
the  natural  and  original,  bids  for  the  representation  of  these 
ideas  in  the  same  material  that  has  immortalized  the  grandest 
conceptions  of  the  artistic  mind.  The  sculpture  is  less  dis- 
tinctly divided  into  schools  than  the  painting,  and  the  differ- 
ences are  slighter,  and  there  are  more  general  resemblances 
between  the  productions  of  the  difl'erent  nationalities.  In 
every  department  where  the  collection  of  statuary  was  of  suf- 
ficient extent  to  warrant  a  judgment,  the  tendency  seemed  to 
be  toward  the  trivial  and  the  forced  sentimental,  while  the 
serious  ideas  found  only  rare  exponents. 

The  Italian  list  of  statuary  was  by  a  great  deal  the  largest, 
and  in  exactly  inverse  proportion  its  merits  maybe  measured. 
Good  cutting,  perfect  manipulation,  the  most  skilfully  imi- 
tated textures  and  modelling  fine  in  a  weak  way,  all  this 
certainly  was  seen  in  the  Italian  works.  No  one  can  deny 
the  skill  of  the  practised  marble  cutters  of  Italy ;  Americans 
owe  to  this  purchasable  talent  a  great  proportion  of  the  statues 
that  are  received  from  Europe  as  the  work  of  American  sculp- 
tors, and  we,  least  of  all,  should  fail  to  pay  tribute  to  this 
skill  and  facility.  Unfortunately  for  both  parties,  the  work- 
men have  not  the  brain  to  sell  with  their  hands.  With  this 
perfection  of  mechanical  execution  the  merits  of  the  Italian 
marbles  stop.  In  the  whole  collection  there  was  scarcely  a 
work  that  would  bear  a  second  examination,  and  the  majority 
disgusted  the  spectator  at  the  first  glance.  There  was  a  glit- 
ter, a  cliic  about  them  that  attracted  the  multitude  as  well- 
dressed  dolls  or  wax  figures  would  do ;  crowds  gathered  to 
admire  a  marble  ballet-girl,  dressed  in  the  nondescript  mascu- 
line costume  of  the  cori/]jhei,  lounging  about  on  the  basin  of 
a  raised  fountain,  smiling  the   most  meaningless  smile  and 


REPORT    OF    MR.    MILLETT.  213 

posed  with  all  the  artificial  studied  grace  of  this  class  of  per- 
formers. The  features  were  deftly  carved ;  the  lace  was 
worked  out  with  Chinese  pafience,  and  not  a  hair  of  the  chig- 
non was  missing ;  the  delicate  French  boots  were  fashioned 
to  perfection,  and  even  the  stitches  in  the  seams  of  the  gar- 
ments were  to  be  counted.  It  was  only  too  plain  to  see  that 
the  execution  of  these  trivial  details  was  the  sole  idea  sf  the 
artist,  and  that  he  chose  his  subject  from  the  great  resources 
it  gave  him  for  the  practice  of  his  chisel,  unconscious  of 
the  sickening  spectacle  he  was  creating  for  every  person  of 
refined  tastes.  A  little  girl,  by  some  unaccountable  freak 
nude  to  the  waist,  her  flowing  garment  in  all  its  perfection  of 
texture  and  studied  folds  trailing  behind,  contemplates  a 
bunch  of  flowers  with  a  gesture  of  surprise  and  an  expression 
of  admiration.  You  can  see  that  her  dress  is  woollen,  with  a 
satin  stripe ;  the  head  necklace  is  highly  polished ;  the  ear- 
rings shine  like  metal ;  the  coifi'ure  is  irreproachable,  but  the 
brainless  creation  is  unendurable  for  a  moment.  A  nude 
female  with  modern  ornaments  and  the  latest  style  of  head- 
dress, is  walking  unblushingly  over  a  perfectly  imitated  piece 
of  turf.  It  is  called  Eve,  or  Flora,  or  Clytemnestra,  and  it 
is  always  the  same  vacant  head  on  the  same  weak  shoulders. 
A  half  dozen  artists  exposed  the  same  motive,  a  child  study- 
ing from  a  book,  the  pages  of  w^hich  are  carefully  covered 
with  printing.  The  joys  and  the  troubles  of  childhood  found 
frequent  expressions  in  marble,  and  the  same  figures  that  pass 
for  supports  to  a  fountain  or  a  candelebra  were  placed  before 
the  public  as  serious  work.  There  were  ranks  of  busts  of 
every  variety ;  platoons  of  heads  diflering  individually  only 
by  a  curl  of  the  lip,  a  droop  of  the  eyelid,  or  a  change  in  the 
coifl"ure  ;  all  were  pulseless,  meaningless,  vacant  in  expression, 
and  this  without  an  exception.  It  is  a  pitiful  degradation  of 
heroic  marble  to  fashion  it  in  such  forms. 

Hidia,  the  Blind  Girl  of  Ponvpeii,  by  Jacob  Ginotti,  is  not 
unattractive  in  the  timid,  hesitating  pose  and  the  sweet 
expression  of  the  face.  Sira,  by  Alexander  Rondoni,  a  com- 
bination of  marble  and  bronze,  is  full  of  character ;  not  only 
is  the  negro  seen  in  the  well  modelled  features  and  the  crisp 
hair,  but  the  hands  and  arms  exposed  as  she  turns  to  see  the 
wound  on  her  shoulder,  are  supple  and  true  to  the  peculiar 


214  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

forms  seen  in  the  negro  race.  The  pose  is  graceful  and  the 
drapery  well  thrown.  Cavalier  Julius  Monteverde  sent  Chris- 
toj)her  Columbus  and  Dr.  Jenn^r,  the  latter  a  work  full  of 
interest.  The  doctor  is  vaccinating  for  the  first  time.  A 
lively  little  fellow,  a  couple  of  years  old,  is  the  patient,  and 
is  held  as  in  a  vise  between  the  chin  and  the  knees  of  the 
docto*-,  while  one  of  the  struggling  arms  is  firmly  grasped  and 
the  lancet  applied.  The  group  is  well  arranged,  the  model- 
ling faultless,  and  the  difficulties  of  modern  costume  and 
commonplace  furniture  well  surmounted. 

In  the  French  department  the  tortured  poses  predominated. 
Nude  corpses  in  attitudes  horribly  real,  Paris  tearing  her  hair 
and  waving  aloft  the  blazing  torch,  crazy  boys  with  wild 
gestures — there  were  a  great  many  similar  motives  shown. 
Flanking  the  main  portal  of  the  Art  Hall  were  two  bronzes 
by  Auguste  Cain,  both  grandly  conceived.  They  are  named, 
A.  Tiger  Slaying  a  Crocodile,  and  A  Nubian  Lion  and 
his  Prey.  The  poses  are  majestic  and  full  of  dignity ;  the 
tiger  with  his  great  paw  on  the  breast  of  his  writhing 
enemy,  snarls  a  warning  to  all  who  come  to  interrupt  his 
meal,  and  the  lion  tramples  under  foot  an  ostrich,  proudly 
raising  his  massive  head  to  watch  intruders.  Of  Emmanuel 
Fremiet's  numerous  contributions,  A  Knight  of  the  XIV. 
Gentur'g,  a  life-size  equestrian  statue,  occupied  the  vestibule 
in  the  place  of  honor,  and  was  justly  given  the  position,  for 
the  statue  is  of  extreme  simplicity,  dignified  in  pose,  firmly 
drawn  and  modelled,  and  well  understood  in  every  respect. 
Charles  Gauthier  exposed  a  young  hunter  playing  with  a 
panther  cub,  noticeable  for  freedom  of  action  and  beautiful 
flesh  modelling.  One  of  the  best  figures  was  David,  by  An- 
tonin  Mercie,  firmly  drawn  and  charmingly  executed  through- 
out. Carrier  Belleuse  sent  but  one  statue,  Sleejping  Hebe 
under  the  Wing  of  the  Eagle,  like  all  this  master's  work,  well 
repaying  careful  study. 

The  German  and  Austrian  sculpture  is  marked  by  less  free- 
dom than  that  of  either  of  the  two  nations  above  spoken  of. 
In  the  German  department  was  observable  much  formality 
and  little  attempt  at  action  or  great  originality ;  but  there 
were  several  examples  of  very  clever  modelling  and  fine 
drawing.     The  fiivorite  group  seems  to  be  an  adult  with  an 


REPOET   OF   MR.    MILLETT.  215 

iDfanfc,  and  this  was  several  times  repeated,  now  a  faun  and 
an  infant  Bacchus,  and  now  a  girl  playing  with  a  child.  The 
works  of  Joseph  Kopt  marked  the  author  as  an  artist  of  great 
versatility,  and  were  the  most  noticeable  examples  of  German 
sculpture,  though  many  others  in  this  department,  as  well  as 
in  the  Austrian  galleries,  deserve  special  mention. 

Of  the  host  of  marbles  that  filled  the  picture  galleries  to 
the  discomfort  of  the  visitors  and  the  obstruction  of  the  view 
of  the  paintings,  limited  space  forbids  a  detailed  description. 
The  crowded  state  of  the  art  halls  was  prejudicial  to  the  care- 
ful study  of  both  the  sculptures  and  the  paintings,  and  each 
lost  from  the  injudicious  arrangement. 

F.  D.  MILLETT. 


216  EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 


CEEAMIC  AET  AT  THE  YIENNA  EXPOSITION. 


By    WILLIAM    P.    BLAKE. 


I.  General  Survey. 

The  potter's  art,  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  the  most 
universal  of 'all,  connects  itself  on  the  one  hand  with  geology 
and  chemistry,  and  on  the  other  with  painting  and  sculpture. 
It  is  the  outgrowth  of  one  of  the  primal  necessities  of  man's 
existence, — the  preparation  and  distribution  of  food, — and 
is  thus  intimately  identified  with  domestic  and  social  life. 
Its  productions,  though  so  fragile,  are  perhaps  the  most  en- 
during of  man's  handiwork.  The  objects  that  have  outlived 
history  are  to  be  viewed  not  only  as  specimens  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  art  at  the  time  of  their  production,  but  as  expo- 
nents of  the  habits,  the  domestic  life,  and  the  aesthetics  of 
races  long  since  passed  away.  There  is  no  other  material 
which  can  be  so  readily  impressed  with  the  conception  of  the 
artist  as  "  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter." 

Progress  and  Capacity  of  the  Art. 
Such  an  art  should  progress  measurably  in  the  same  ratio 
as  civilization.  That  it  has  so  progressed  is  evident  to  all 
who  saw  its  representation  in  the  halls  of  the  great  Exhibi- 
tion at  Vienna  in  1873.  The  most  general  and  striking  im- 
pression produced  by  a  systematic  survey  of  what  was  shown 
there,  was  the  vitality  of  the  art  and  the  high  degree  of 
excellence  it  has  reached,  not  only  in  one  or  two  countries, 
but  in  many.  The  rapid  progress  in  the  manufacture  of  por- 
celain and  earthenware  in  several  countries  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  era  of  industrial  exhibitions,  shows  the 
capacity  of  the  art  for  development  in  any  country.  Excel- 
lence is  by  no  means  confined  to  any  section  or  to  any  special 


CEEAMIG  AETS — GENEEAL  SUEVET.  217 

source  of  materials.  Chemistry  has  so  far  unlocked  the 
secrets  of  the  manufacture  that  it  is  no  lono:er  confined  in 
empirical  bands  or  limited  in  its  range  or  locality.  A  few 
decades  ago  the  knowledge  of  the  details  of  compounding  the 
materials  for  porcelain-ware,  or  for  the  glaze  and  decoration, 
was  centered  in  but  few  persons.  It  was  guarded  as  a 
secret ;  and  the  death  of  a  master  was  perhaps  the  death  of 
his  art  in  the  range  of  his  labors ;  but  now  principles  survive 
individuals,  the  art  is  universal,  and  seems  established  on  an 
enduring  basis.  Chemistry  has  also  given  pottery  a  new 
life,  and  has  enlarged  the  range  of  its  uses,  and  has  extended 
its  capacity  for  decorative  and  ornamental  purposes. 

The  great  capacity  of  the  potter's  art  for  advancement  in 
many  important  directions  is  one  of  its  greatest  attractions. 
The  increasing  use  of  fictile  productions  for  ornamentation, 
not  only  in  the  interiors  of  our  houses,  but  in  the  exteriors, 
in  the  form  of  enamelled  tiles,  plaques,  medallions,  terra-cotta 
ornaments,  and  bricks  of  various  forms  and  colors,  is  highly 
gratifying,  and  marks  a  new  era  in  the  modern  development 
of  ceramics.  But  the  capacity  and  known  possibilities  of  the 
art  are  far  beyond  the  artistic  sense  and  appreciation  of  the 
people. 

Necessity  toe  InsteuctiojSt  in  Aet. 

What  is  now  needed  is  not  so  much  the  possession  of 
materials,  of  knowledge,  or  even  of  artistic  skill,  as  the 
elevation  of  the  public  taste,  so  as  to  create  an  appreciative 
and  large  demand  for  the  products  of  higher  efforts  and 
greater  skill.  The  manufacturers  need  encouragement  and 
appreciation.  The  industry  requires  an  artistic  sense  among 
the  consumers  of  its  products.  If  the  public  will  not  buy 
superior  goods,  the  manufacturer  cannot  make  them  without 
loss.  It  is  true  that  to  a  certain  extent  manufacturers  should 
lead  public  taste  ;  and  no  doubt  their  duty  in  this  respect  is 
not  always  appreciated  by  them,  but  it  is  well  understood  by 
some  of  the  great  establishments  abroad,  and  they  are  reap- 
ing rich  rewards.  Wedgwood,  in  striking  out  a  new  path, 
not  only  secured  immediate  support,  but  established  a  repu- 
tation of  far  greater  value.  Palissy's  art  survives  him  and  is 
the  basis  of  an  extensive  industry.     But  the  people  generally 

28 


218  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

3'^et  need  to  know  more  of  pottery  as  an  art  to  secure  a  fair 
appreciation  of  novelties  and  to  stimulate  progress.  A  great 
obstruction  to  progress  is  the  servile  following  of  others,  the 
constant  reproduction  of  old  forms  and  old  designs — imita- 
tions rather  than  novelties. 

The  high  development  and  perfection  of  the  ceramic  art  in 
Europe  is  due  in  a  great  degree  to  the  establishment  of  por- 
celain works  under  government  protection  and  favor,  and  the 
rivalries  between  them.  Each  establishment  became  a  school 
of  art,  producing  models  for  imitation,  launching  out  into 
unknown  fields,  experimenting  and  perfecting  without  regard 
to  the  demands  of  trade, — being  raised  above  them  and  inde- 
pendent of  them.  They  became  leaders  of  public  taste,  and 
their  influence  was  strengthened  by  the  patronage  of  royalty 
and  court  circles. 

The  Exhibition  in  1851  revealed  to  Great  Britain  its  mani- 
fest inferiority  in  artistic  manufactures  ;  and  it  did  not  take 
long  to  ascertain  that  the  cause  was  the  neglect  of  art  educa- 
tion amongst  the  people,  while  the  continental  artisans  were 
taught  with  the  greatest  care,  and  familiarized  from  their 
youth  Avith  the  choicest  productions  of  ancient  and  n^odern 
art.  It  was  conceded  that  the  art  schools  and  museums  of 
France  exercised  a  great  influence  upon  the  manufactures  of 
the  country.  England  saw  that  to  compete  with  such  a  rival 
great  efforts  must  be  made,  and  that  the  people  must  be  edu- 
cated. The  government  took  the  matter  in  hand ;  it  was 
studied  and  reported  upon  by  government  commissions, 
money  was  freely  appropriated,  museums  were  founded,  and 
a  Department  of  Science  and  Art  established  as  a  branch  of 
the  government. 

The  favorable  influence  of  these  efforts  was  apparent  in 
Paris  in  1867  ;  it  was  still  more  evident  in  the  London  Ex- 
hibition in  1871,  and  was  abundantly  shown  at  Vienna. 
Great  Britain,  from  a  position  of  mediocrity  in  1851,  has 
risen  to  a  commanding  position  in  the  potter's  art,  standing 
to-day  in  the  front  rank,  not  only  as  regards  excellence 
of  materials  and  manufacture,  but  in  artistic  skill. 

All  this  is  full  of  teaching  to  the  educators  of  the  United 
States.      Ceramic   industry,   as   we   shall  presently   see,   is 


1 


CERAMIC   ARTS — GENERAL    SURVEY.  219 

already  established  here,  but,  though  in  its  infancy,  gives 
promise  of  a  great  future.  Its  growth  can  be  greatly  and 
advantageously  modified  by  a  little  well-directed  effort. 
Art  education  is  not  only  required  by  potters,  but  by  all 
artisans,  and  by  the  people  generally.  It  not  only  produces 
skilled  specialists,  but  becomes  diffused  and  raises  the  stand- 
ard of  public  taste,  increasing  the  appreciation  of  the  public 
and  the  demand  for  really  meritorious  works,  thus  reacting 
beneficially  upon  the  industries. 

There  is  a  great  multiplicity  of  sources  of  designs  for  orna- 
ments at  the  present  day  ;  and  the  facilities  now  afforded  for 
copying  and  reproducing  the  most  precious  artistic  works  of 
the  past  should  cause  them  to  be  seen  everywhere.  Every 
town  should  have  its  art-gallery  and  its  classes  for  drawing 
and  modelling.  The  children  in  our  public  schools  should 
not  lose  such  influences  as  may  be  exerted  by  the  possession 
of  sets  of  casts  of  architectural  decorations,  of  sculpture  and 
bas-reliefs,  all  of  which  may  be  procured  for  little  above  the 
cost  of  the  materials  and  transportation.  The  general  influ- 
ence of  art  museums  abroad  is  not  to  be  lightly  estimated. 
They  are  exerting  a  gentle  and  imperceptible,  but  a  most 
powerful,  influence  upon  the  culture  of  the  communities  in 
which  they  are  located.  Who  can  estimate  the  influence  ex- 
erted by  the  South  Kensington  Museum  upon  its  millions  of 
visitors?  And  we  are  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  influence,  also, 
of  the  great  exhibitions  which  bring  together  in  friendly 
rivalry  the  master-efforts  of  the  most  skilful  .artisans  of  the 
time,  and  afford  the  conservators  of  museums  their  richest 
harvests  of  novelties  and  gems  of  excellence  from  all  lauds. 
These  are  the  most  powerful  of  all  agencies  in  the  education  of 
the  people,  and  they  afford  the  most  salutary  stimulus  to  the 
artistic  industries,  especially  when  the  producers  have  access 
to  typical  examples  of  the  best  eflbrts  in  their  arts  by  the 
generations  that  have  passed  away. 

The  efiect  of  museums  and  systematic  art  education  in 
France  is  spoken  of  by  the  reporters  on  porcelain  in  1871,  as 
follows  :  "  The  tradition  of  past  generations  of  art-workers 
still  lives  in  France  and  is  kept  alive,  not  only  by  countless 
examples  of  their  skill,  happily  preserved  in  many  noble 
museums,  but  also  by  a  systematized  education  of  artists, 


220  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

which  alone    is  capable  of  directing  onward   in    its  proper 
course  and  maintaining  constant,  a  National  School  of  Art."  * 

Museums  of  Ceramic  Productions. 

What  we  specially  need,  then,  in  the  industry  to  which 
these  pages  are  devoted,  is  a  well-chosen  collection  of  all  the 
best  examples  of  the  potter's  art,  in  all  ages,  and  from  every 
country.  New  York  already  has  the  nucleus  or  commence- 
ment of  such  a  collection  ■(•  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Art,  where  the  unrivalled  collection  of  De  Cesnola  presents  a 
great  wealth  of  examples  in  earthenware  and  terra-cotta,  of 
the  Phoenicians,  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans.  This  is  sup- 
plemented by  a  Loan  Museum,  chiefly  from  the  private  col- 
lection of  Mrs.  W.  C.  Prime,  in  which  there  are  excellent 
specimens  of  new  and  old  Sevres,  Dresden,  Austrian,  and 
English  porcelain,  of  delft  ware  and  Saracenic  tiles.  A 
somewhat  similar  collection  exists  in  the  Athenaeum,  Boston, 
and  contains  some  excellent  examples  of  old  Sevres,  Chinese 
ware,  pdte-sur-pdte,  an  imitation  of  Henri-deux  ware,  etc., 
some  of  which  were  obtained  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition. 

These  museums  are  already  exerting  an  influence  upon  the 
public  in  directing  attention  to  the  preservation  of  old  and 
curious  pieces  of  porcelain  and  the  formation  of  private  col- 
lections. Although  many  such  collections  are  made  merely  for 
the  sake  of  getting  together  odd  and  rare  bits  of  old  china  to 
which  a  fanciful  value  is  attached,  without  any  comprehension 
of  the  nature  of  the  art,  or  its  history,  the  weakness  is  by  no 
means  to  be  discouraged,  for  sooner  or  later  the  possession  of 
the  objects  leads  the  owner  to  look  beyond  them  to  their 
origin,  and  to  a  comparison  of  the  products  in  all  their  quali- 
ties of  material,  form,  and  decoration. 

*Magiiiac  and  Soden  Smith,  On  Porcelain,  Lon.  Exhib.,  1871,  I.,  p.  258. 

t  An  important  portion  of  this  collection  consists  of  over  4,000  earthenware  vases, 
discovered  in  ancient  tombs  at  Idalium,  a  Phoenician  city  which  was  conquered  by 
the  Greek  colonists  of  Cyprus  several  centuries  before  Christ.  These  vases  are  per- 
fect in  form  and  fresh  in  color,  and  are  ornamented  according  to  the  fancj'  of  the 
potter,  without  any  special  regard  to  their  size  or  capacity.  The  colors  are  generally 
only  two  :  a  dark  brown,  almost  black,  and  a  purple  red.  This  last  appears  to  have 
been  produced  by  an  oxide  of  copper,  and  the  brown  by  umber,  an  earth  which 
occurs  abundantly  in  Cyprus.  The  decorative  patterns  are  usually  concentric  circles 
and  chequered  designs,  sometimes  intermingled  with  the  lotus. 


CERAMIC  ARTS— GENERAL   SURVEY.  221 

Those  who  are  disposed  to  make  a  study  of  this  fascinating 
sul>jcct  may  derive  great  assistance  from  a  collection  of  typi- 
cal examples  of  modern  productions  that  can  readily  be  made 
by  themselves  at  no  very  great  cost.  For  such  an  under- 
taking, students  in  the  United  States  have  great  facilities,  in 
consequence  of  the  very  general  representation  of  the  chief 
manufactures  abroad  in  the  large  stocks  of  ware  kept  on  hand 
in  our  principal  cities.  There  are,  at  least,  two  establish- 
ments;— that  of  Mr.  Kichard  Briggs  in  Boston,  and  of  Messrs. 
Tyndale  and  INIitchell  in  Philadelphia — which  may  be  re- 
garded as  museums  of  the  art;  for  the  proprietors,  being 
enthusiasts  in  their  specialty,  take  great  pains  to  collect  and 
retain  examples  of  all  varieties  of  manufacture  and  decora- 
tion, and  even  make  visits  to  Europe  to  secure  representative 
examples  and  novelties. 

Commercial,  Value  of  Artistic  Skill. 
The  United  States  are  destined  to  become  the  best  market 
in  the  world  for  artistic  productions.  This  results  from  the 
very  general  distribution  of  wealth  among  the  people  and  the 
desire  to  adorn  their  homes  with  the  same  class  of  objects 
sought  and  admired  in  communities  of  riper  civilization  and 
culture.  Money,  for  a  time  at  least,  anticipates  apprecia- 
tion;  but  the  latter,  as  already  shown,  is  sure  to  follow. 
Economists  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  expanding  fields  of 
industrial  effort  which  are  opened  in  every  direction  by  in- 
creased appreciation  of,  and  demand  for,  artistic  productions 
amongst  the  people.  It  leads  to  a  great  variety  of  manufac- 
tures and  a  rapid  increase  of  wealth.  Whole  communities 
are  sustained  abroad  in  the  production  of  trivial  ornaments. 
When  we  consider,  also,  the  great  increase  in  value  Avith 
which  the  commonest  materials  may  be  endowed  by  a  little 
artistic  skill,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  recognize  the  commercial 
value  of  such  skill  to  the  country.  The  clay  which  is  so 
abundant  under  our  feet  is  transformed  by  the  potter  into  an 
object  of  beauty.  A  single  slab  of  earthenware,  which  may 
be  produced  for  a  few  cents,  becomes  of  almost  priceless 
value  in  the  hands  of  the  artist.  The  enamels  of  Parvillee 
and  the  plaques  shown  by  Deck  in  the  exhibition  are  exam- 
ples.    The  prices    which  such  objects  command  are  aston- 


222  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

ishing  to  those  accustomed  to  the  merely  utilitarian  view  of 
things.  The  British  artisan  who  reported  upon  the  pottery, 
in  mentioning  Deck's  beautiful  plaques,  says :  "  The  most 
attractive  were  several  large  round  plaques,  about  two  feet 
across,  painted  with  large  female  heads  and  other  decora- 
tions. I  saw  one  of  them  was  bought  by  an  English  manu- 
facturer. The  price  paid  was  £200.  Here  is  an  example  of 
art  workmanship  !  This  dish,  which  realized  such  a  large 
amount,  could  be  made  and  sold  by  the  gentleman  who 
bought  it  for  about  two  shillings ;  and  the  artist,  with  his 
labor,  has  made  it  worth  £200  !  " 

Influence  of  Japanese  Art. 
In  the  early  periods  of  the  introduction  of  oriental  porce- 
lain, and  its  attempted  reproduction  in  Europe,  Japanese  and 
Chinese  designs  in  decoration  were  closely  followed.  This  is 
true  to  a  great  degree  now.  The  great  influx  of  Japanese 
forms  in  such  quaint  and  novel  variety,  since  the  modern 
opening  of  that  country  to  trade,  has  had  a  great  influence 
upon  the  styles  of  decoration  now  in  vogue.  It  is  the  new 
field  for  the  decorative  artists  of  Europe,  and  close  attention 
and  study  have  been  given  to  the  spirit  of  Japanese  art.  We 
find  the  results  in  the  porcelains  of  the  Royal  Worcester 
works,  in  the  cloisonnee  enamels  of  the  English  and  French 
sectiohs,  in  the  bronzes,  and  in  the  decorative  pottery  and 
porcelain  of  other  countries.  Meantime,  we  see  the  Japanese 
strivino;  to  imitate  Enolish  and  French  forms  and  ornaments  in 
table  and  toilet  services,  instead  of  more  strongly  developing 
and  impressing  their  own  peculiar  and  admirable  styles  upon 
their  wares.  This  is  one  cause  of  the  decadence  of  Japanese 
art ;  another,  as  pointed  out  beyond,  is  the  demand  for  quan- 
tity and  cheapness  at  the  sacrifice  of  quality  in  their  products. 

Lithography  and  Photography  Tributary  to  Decoration. 
Lithography  is  now  .made  subservient  to  the  decoration  of 
porcelain.  A  wide  and  inviting  field  is  thus  opened,  espe- 
cially to  potters  in  the  United  States,  it  being  possible  to  pro- 
duce pictures  in  this  way  that  few  persons,  even  those  familiar 
with  the  art,  can  distinguish  from  hand  paintings.  Such 
decorations  may  replace,  and  at  no  greater  cost,  the  crude, 


i 


CERAMIC  ARTS — GENERAL  SURVEY.  223 

grotesque  daubs  "vvliich  have  so  loug  seemed  inseparable  from 
all  low-priced  decorated  ware. 

Photography  also  is  now  tributary  to  the  decoration  of  por- 
celain. The  beautiful  examples  exhibited  by  Julius  Leith,  of 
Vienna,  may  here  be  specially  referred  to.  A  series  of  plates 
were  ornamented  by  photographs,  apparently  from  life,  as 
perfect  as  upon  paper,  and  seemingly  so  well  fixed  on  or 
under  the  glaze  as  not  to  be  liable  to  injury  by  use.  When 
we  think  upon  what  has  been  accomplished  by  the  Woodworth 
process  of  relief  printing  from  photographs,  it  seems  more 
than  probable  that  transfers  in  indelible  colors  of  such  pictures 
may  be  made  upon  porcelain  at  no  greater  cost  than  for  ordi- 
nary crude  engravings.  All  that  appears  to  be  necessary  is 
to  have  a  very  fine  metallic  pigment  and  a  surface  suiSciently 
smooth  to  receive  the  most  delicate  films  when  transferred 
from  the  relief  plate  to  a  suitable  paper,  which  can  be  im- 
pressed upon  the  porcelain,  and  then  removed  with  water  and 
friction,  leaving  the  ink  adhering  to  the  ware,  exactly  as  is 
now  practised  with  copperplate  engravings. 

Pottery  in  the  United  States. 

For  the  manufacture  of  pottery  in  the  United  States  there 
is  no  lack  of  the  best  materials.  Not  only  are  extensive  de- 
posits of  clay  already  known  and  worked,  but  it  is  probable 
that  when  attention  is  more  generally  given  to  the  subject, 
other  deposits  will  be  brought  to  light. 

The  art  in  America  is  of  extreme  antiquity  amongst  the 
aboriginal  tribes,  especially  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and 
in  the  western  part. of  the  United  States.  At  the  Delaware 
Water  Gap  specimens  of  cups,  of  good  form  and  rudely  dec- 
orated, have  been  washed  out,  with  stone  implements.*  The 
clay  images  of  Mexico  and  the  remarkable  pottery  of  Peru 
are  well  known.  It  is  important  to  note  that  in  these  exam- 
ples, as  in  the  ancient  pottery  of  Arizona  and  Mexico,  great 
attention  was  given  to  decoration. 

In  the  early  attempts  at  the  manufacture  of  porcelain  in 

*  The  vessels  found  in  the  ancient  momids  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  are  considered 
by  Professor  Cox  to  be  formed  of  a  calcareous  cement,  and  not  of  burned  clay. 
They  are  not,  therefore,  pottery  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word. 


224  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Great  Britain  attention  was  directed  to  the  American  colonies 
as  a  source  of  the  materials.  In  the  year  1745,  William  Cook- 
worthy  wrote  that  he  had  seen  samples  of  kaolin  and  petunse 
found  on  the  "  back  of  Virginia,"  and  that  the  discoverer  had 
gone  for  a  cargo  of  it.  In  1765,  Caleb  Lloyd,  residing  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  sent  a  box  of  porcelain  earth  to  the 
Worcester  porcelain  works,  saying  that  it  had  been  obtained 
in  the  mountains  some  four  hundred  miles  west,  in  the  country 
of  the  Cherokees,*  There  appears  to  have  been  much  interest 
manifested  in  this  discovery,  and  the  clay  was  pronounced  to 
be  superior  to  that  obtained  in  Cornwall ;  but,  being  without 
the  undecomposed  portions  of  rock,  it  could  not  be  made  into 
porcelain. 

Miss  Meteyard,  in  her  life  of  Wedgwood,  mentions  the 
custom  of  merchants  and  captains  to  take  in  samples  of  clay 
and  other  earthy  bodies  on  their  return  voyages,  particularly 
from  the  ports  of  the  two  Carolinas,  Georgia  and  Florida,  f 
Bently  supplied  Wedgwood  with  clay  imported  from  Pensa- 
cola,  a  port  Avith  which  he  had  trading  relations.  Wedg- 
wood also  received  a  sample  of  the  South  Carolina  clay,  and 
wrote  that  "it  would  require  some  peculiar  management  to 
avoid  the  difficulties  attendinor  the  use  of  it." 

As  early  as  1770  it  became  evident  to  the  British  potters 
that  the  potter}^  industry  might  be  started  in  America  to  the 
detriment  of  their  trade,  and  Wedgwood  wrote  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  The  trade  to  our  colonies  we  are  apprehensive  of  losing  in  a 
few  years,  as  they  have  set  on  foot  some  pot  works  there  ah'ead}^,  and 
have  at  this  tinae  an  agent  amongst  us  hiring  a  number  of  our  hands 
for  establishing  new  pot  works  in  South  Carolina.  The}^  have  every 
material  there,  equal,  if  not  superior  to  our  own,  for  carrying  on 
that  manufacture.  We  cannot  help  apprehending  such  consequences 
from  these  emigrations  as  make  us  very  uneasy  for  our  trade  and 
prosperit}'." 

Porcelain  works  were  soon  after  started  near  Philadelphia, 
but  with  little  success  in  competition  with  the  established 
manufacture  in  England,  although  some  very  good  porcelain 

*"Two  Centuries  of  Ceramic  Art  in  Bristol,"  pp.  8-13. 
t  Meteyard's  Life  of  Weclgwood,  p.  367. 


CERAMIC  ARTS — GENERAL  SURVEY.  225 

was  produced.  Porcelain  was  made  near  Philadelphia  as  late 
as  the  years  1849  and  1850,  but  the  works  were  not  sustained. 
The  manufacture  is  now  reported  at  Phoenixville,  Pa.,  and 
exists  at  Greenport,  N.  Y.,  where  table  and  toilet  ware  is 
made. 

The  industrj^  especially  in  the  direction  of  earthenware, 
and  the  common  cheap  pottery,  such  as  Rockingham,  yellow- 
ware  and  stoneware,  has  increased  rapidly  of  late  years,  under 
the  stimulus  afforded  by  the  tariff  and  the  premium  on  gold. 
According  to  the  last  census  there  were  777  establishments  for 
the  manufacture  of  stone  and  earthen  ware  distributed  through 
the  several  states,  the  highest  numbers  being  170  in  Ohio,  and 
198  in  Pennsylvania.  Only  fifteen  are  reported  in  Massachu- 
setts. Eighty -two  steam-engines,  with  an  aggregate  of  1,586 
horse-power,  were  in  use,  besides  eight  water-wheels  of  122 
horse-power.  Hands  employed,  (5,116;  capital  invested, 
$5,294,398;  amount  paid  in  wages,  $2,247,173;  materials 
are  valued  at  $1,702,705  ;  value  of  the  products,  $6,045,536. 
The  number  of  persons  reporting  their  occupation  as  potters 
is  5,060. 

In  the  State  of  Massachusetts  alone,  the  fifteen  establish- 
ments, with  twenty-three -horse-power  steam  and  forty  horse- 
power water,  employ  160  hands,  and  produce  to  the  value  of 
$244,493  annually. 

The  following  are  the  chief  points  at  which  the  potteries 
are  located ; — In  New  Jersey,  at  Trenton,  Jersey  City  and 
Gloucester.  In  Ohio,  at  East  Liverpool  and  Cincinnati ;  New 
York,  in  the  city  and  at  Flushing  and  Greenpoint,  L.  I.  ; 
Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg;  Illinois,  Peoria; 
Maryland,  Baltimore  ;Massachusetts,  Boston  ;  and  in  Missouri, 
at  St.  Louis.  In  1872,  it  was  estimated  that  there  were  148 
kilns-  in  seven  States,  capable  of  producing  at  the  rate  of 
130,000  annually  per  kiln,  which  would  amount  to  $4,440,000 
per  annum,  and  would  use  75,000  tons  of  coal,  and  75,000 
tons  of  clays  and  other  materials. 

The  industry  has  taken  root  firmly  in  New  Jersey,  at  Tren- 
ton, and  bids  fair  to  thrive  permanently.  That  locality  offers 
the  advantages  of  extensive  deposits  of  the  finest  clays,  cheap 
transportation  by  water,  as  well  as  by  rail ;  and  the  proximity 

29 


226  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

to  the  coal  region  and  to  two  large  cities,  combine  to  foster 
its  growth,  and  to  make  .the  locality  the  Staff ordsliire  of  the 
United  States.  The  pioneei-s  of  the  industry  at  Trenton  were 
Mr.  Steiner,  a  German,  and  Mr.  Young,  an  Englishman. 

In  1861,  there  were  but  five  small  potteries.  In  1868,  there 
were  seventeen,  with  an  aggregate  of  fifty-three  kilns,  with 
a  capacity,  if  fully  worked,  of, — 


Number  of  hands. 

Tons  of  coal  consumed  annually, 

Tons  of  prepared  clay, 

Average  production  of  each  kiln. 

Capital  invested, 


1,200 

18,000 

20,000 

$25,000 

$1,250,000 


Mr.  Hattersley,  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  manufacture  of 
pottery  iii  Trenton,  wrote  in  1868  : — 

"The  writer,  after  travelUng  over  the  States  of  New  York,  Con- 
necticut, Ngw  Jerse}',  Pennsylvania,  Delaware  and  Ohio,  in  search 
of  proper  materials  and  the  best  place  for  its  manufacture,  concluded 
that  Trenton,  New  Jersey',  was  the  place,  situated,  as  it  is,  between 
the  two  great  markets,  New  York  and  Philadelphia  ;  health}',  and 
the  State  abounding  with  fine  cla3's  and  convenient  for  the  collection 
of  all  other  materials,  such  as  coal,  kaolfn,  flint,  sand,  felspar,  bone, 
etc.,  b}^  canal  or  railroad." 

There  are  now  some  twenty  establishments  and  sixty  kilns, 
pa'oducing  crockery,  chiefly  white  "stone-china,"  to  the  annual 
value  of  $1,500,000  to  $2,000,000.  When  in  full  operation, 
they  employ  from  1,200  to  1,500  hands,  and  consume  from 
25,000  to  30,000  tons  of  coal.  One  of  the  largest  establish- 
ments, the  Glasgow  pottery  of  Mr.  Moses,  covers  about  four 
acres  of  ground,  and  has  six  large  kilns  in  operation.  The 
manufa(;ture  is  confined  chiefly  to  the  finer  sorts  of  stone- 
china,  fully  equal  to  any  imported ;  but,  we  regret  to  note,  it 
is  stamped  with  British  marks,  in  order  to  meet  the  prejudice 
of  the  consumers  in  favor  of  imported  ware.  But  this  we 
believe  is  passing  away,  and  the  time  will  soon  arrive  when 
the  trade-marks  of  American  establishments  will  command 
respect  and  preference.  It  is  altogether  possible  that  the 
United  States,  holding  the  greater  part  of  the  available  coal 


CERAMIC  ARTS — GENERAL  SURVEY. 


227 


of  the  world,  in  contiguity  with  illimitable  supplies  of  the 
best  and  most  varied  clays  and  potting  materials,  and  having 
uunsual  attractions  for  skilled  and  ordinary  labor,  will  soon 
commence  the  export  to  less  favored  regions.  Meantime,  the 
home  market  is  expanding  faster  than  the  rate  of  supply  from 
home  sources. 

Notwithstanding  the  gradual  extension  of  the  industry  in 
the  United  States,  the  importation  of  pottery  amounts  to 
about  $6,000,000  annually,  and  is  steadily  increasing,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  following  statement  furnished  for  the  report, 
at  my  request,  by  Edward  Young,  Esq.,  chief  of  the  bureau 
of  statistics,  Washington. 


Statement  of  value  of  Earthen,  Stone  and  China  iDare,  im^ported 
into  the  United  States  during  the  years  ended  June  30, 
1869  to  1873,  inclusive. 

1869, $4,372,607 


1870, 
1871, 

1872, 
1873, 


4,388,771 
4,681,376 
5,270,785 
6,015,945 


Aggregate  in  five  years. 


,729,484 


The  value  of  the  difi'erent  kinds  of  pottery  for  three  years 
in  succession,  with  the  amount  of  duties  paid,  has  been  as 
follows  : — 


228 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


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CERAMIC  ARTS GENERAL  SURVEY.  229 

We  are  to  consider,  however,  the  difficulties  under  which 
we  labor ;  the  possession  of  the  coal,  the  clay,  the  transporta- 
tion and  an  expanding  market  are  not  sufficient ;  we  need  the 
labor  and  the  enterprise  to  bring  these  dormant  sources  of 
wealth  together.  As  in  Wedgwood's  time,  there  are  those 
who  think  this  can  be  done  but  in  Great  Britain,  and  that  we 
should  send  our  clay,  our  sand,  and  our  coal,  over  the  ocean 
to  be  worked  into  objects  for  our  daily  use.  The  writer  of 
Wedgwood's  life,  published  in  1865,  says  : — 

"  No  countr}^  situated  as  America  then  was,  and  is  now,  with  her 
civilization  thrust  centuries  back  by  the  curse  of  blind  and  intem- 
perate party  strife  and  internecine  war,  can  hope  to  gain  perfection 
in  an  art.  A  countr}^  in  this  condition  gains  most  by  the  export  of 
raw  materials  and  the  import  of  manufactured  goods." 

As  yet  we  have  barely  begun  to  explore  for  and  to  under- 
stand the  varied  sources  of  potters'  materials  which  are  known 
to  exist  all  over  the  country. 

There  is  no  need  of  looking  about  for  anj^thing  connected 
with  the  art,  unless  it  be  the  artistic  inspiration  to  be  gained 
by  contact  with  older  civilization  and  the  artistic  culture  which 
is  the  inheritance  of  mankind. 

American  materials  are  more  and  more  brought  into  use  at 
the  American  potteries,  to  the  exclusion  of  those  formerly 
imported.  In  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  its  vicinity, 
there  are  establishments  for  mining,  washing  and  preparing 
kaolin  or  fine  china  clay,  equal  to  any  from  Cornwall,  in 
England.  There  are  valuable  beds  of  such  clay  in  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  in  Illinois  in  Pope  County,  at  which 
last-named  place  a  superior  clay  is  obtained  and  is  highly 
valued  at  the  Ohio  potteries  and  others. 

There  is  an  abundance  of  fine  quartz  and  felspar  rock 
throughout  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  and  mines  have 
been  opened  in  Maine,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
and  Maryland.  Mills  to  crush  and  grind  these  materials,  with 
expensive  machinery,  have  been  erected  at  several  points  on 
the  Susquehanna,  at  Trenton,  and  on  the  Connecticut,  and 
in  various  places  in  the  West. 


230  exposition  at  vienna. 

Decoeation  of  Porcelain  and  Earthenware. 

The  decorations  of  plain  white  china  and  earthenware,  in 
colors,  is  a  branch  of  the  potter's  art  which  is  assuming  con- 
siderable importance  in  the  United  States,  chiefly  in  conse- 
quence of  the  protection  afi'orded  by  the  tariff",  the  duties 
being  ad  valorem,  and,  of  course,  much  less  upon  plain  white 
ware  than  upon  the  same  with  the  costs  of  decoration  added. 
It  is  not  alone  services  for  the  table,  plates,  tea-sets,  etc., 
which  are  thus  ornamented,  but  toilet-sets,  and  especially  set 
basins  and  other  ceramic  plumbers'  ware  and  fittings.  There 
are  several  establishments  in  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia 
and  the  West,  particularly  in  Chicago,  where  quite  an  exten- 
sive business  is  established  in  decorating  and  matching  broken 
sets  of  china  or  stoneware.  Some  attention  has  also  been 
given  at  the  East  to  the  decoration  of  tiles. 

Mr.  Staring,  of  Chicago,  has  successfully  established  the 
business  of  decorating  porcelain  in  the  West.  He  not  only 
succeeds  well  with  plain  colors  and  gilding,  but  with  flowers 
and  fruit.  Pieces  of  costly  sets,  that  are  accidently  broken, 
are  replaced  by  taking  plain  white  pieces  and  decorating 
them  to  match  the  rest.  Toilet  sets,  pitchers,  mugs  and 
dinner  services,  are  decorated  to  order.  A  business  of  con- 
siderable proportions  is  being  established  in  this  way. 

Some  parties  in  New  Haven  and  New  York  propose  to 
decorate  ware  by  machinery,  on  a  large  scale,  under  patents 
issued  to  S.  J.  Hoggson.  An  organization  has  been  formed 
under  the  title  of  "American  Enamel  Decorating  Company." 
The  process  consists  in  a  rapid  transfer  of  designs  from  roll- 
ers to  the  object  to  be  decorated.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
work  can  be  done  with  great  rapidity  and  accuracy,  and  at 
very  little  cost. 

Ramieioations  of  the  Potter's  Art. 
The  following  list  of  trades  engaged  in  the  potters  and  con- 
nected arts  in  Great  Britain,  is  suggestive  and  interesting : — 


Brick  and  Tile  makers. 
Brown  Stone  potters. 
Chemical  potters. 
Chimney  Top  manufacturers. 


China  and  Earthenware    manufac- 
turers. 
China  gilders. 
China  menders. 


CERAMIC   ARTS — GENERAL    SURVEY. 


231 


China  Riveters. 

China  and  Porcelain  Door  Furni- 
ture makers. 

China  and  Porcehxin  manufacturers. 

China  drillers, 

China  Figure  manufacturers. 

China  Ornament  makers. 

China  i3ainters  and  gilders. 

China  Toy  makers. 

Drain  Pipe  and  Tile  makers. 

Earthenware  Figure  manufacturers. 

Earthenware  manufacturers. 

Egyptian  Black  -  ware  manufac- 
turers. 

Encaustic  Tile  makers. 

Fanc}'  Jug  manufacturers. 

Fire  Brick  makers. 

Jug  manufacturers. 


Melting  Pot  and  Crucible  makers. 
Muffle  manufacturers. 
Parian  manufacturers. 
Plumbers'  Pottery  makers. 
Porcelain  Letter  makers. 
Porcelain  manufacturers. 
Potters. 

Potters'  engravers. 
Rockingham  Ware  manufacturers. 
Stone  Bottle  makers. 
Stone  Mortar  and  Pestle  manufac- 
turers. 
Stone  i^otters. 
Stoneware  manufacturers. 
Terra-Cotta  makers. 
Tobacco  Pipe  miakers. 
Vase  manufacturers. 


To  these  may  be  added  the  following  occupations  sustained 
in  Great  Britain  by  an  active  ceramic  industry  : — 


Brick  and  Tile  Machine  makers. 
Brick  Makers'  Imj^lement  manufac- 
turers. 
Brick  Mould  makers. 
Grinding  Mill  makers. 
Kiln  builders. 
Machinists  in  general. 
Pug  Mill  makers. 
Potters'  Wheel  makers. 


Ash  merchants. 
Chert  Stone  dealers. 
China  Clay  merchants. 
Clay  merchants. 
Flint  millers. 
Manganese  merchants. 
Marble  Clay  merchants. 
Pipe  Clay  manufacturers. 
Zaflfres  refiners. 


Classification  of  Pottery. 

The  word  pottemj  in  its  widest  sense,  and  as  used  in  this 
Keport,  is  a  very  comprehensive  term,  including  all  fictile 
productions  of  which  clay  is  the  chief  material.  This  wide 
range  of  products  may  be  grouped  under  two  grand  divisions 
— the  EartJiy  and  the  Vitreous,  Of  the  first,  ordinary 
earthenware  and  faience  ,are  examples ;  and  of  the  second, 
porcelain  or  china.  The  chief  characteristics  of  the  earthy 
division  are,  as  the  name  indicates,  an  earthy  substance, 
porosity,  infusibility,  opacity  and  comparative  softness  ;  of 
the  vitreous,  a  vitreous  substance,  fusibility,  translucency 
and  comparative  hardness. 


232  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

The  earthy  group  includes  faience,  terra-cotta,  bricks,  etc. 
Faience  is  also  a  comprehensive  term,  taking  in  all  varieties 
of  earthenware  stoneware,  etc.,  and  comprises  two  chief 
classics,  the  glazed  and  the  unglazed.  The  objects  may  also 
be  grouped  as  hard  faience,  and  soft  faience,  stoneware 
being  an  example  of  the  former ;  but  the  classification  accord- 
ing to  the  glaze,  or  superficial  coating,  is  to  be  preferred. 
Of  glazes,  which  consist  of  a  composition  much  more  fusible 
than  the  liocly  of  the  ware,  there  are  many  varieties.  All, 
however,  have  this  in  common,  that  they  may  become  more  or 
less  fluid  in  the  furnace,  and  cover  the  porous  surface  of  the 
paste  or  body,  giving  a  vitreous  surface  when  cold.  They 
are  all  more  or  less  siliceous,  but  the  substance  giving  the 
fusibility  may  be  an  alkali,  or  metallic  oxide,  usually  oxide  of 
lead,  or  of  zinc,  or  oxide  of  tin.  The  alkalies  and  lead  give 
a  transparent  glaze,  and  oxide  of  tin  gives  an  opaque  glaze  or 
enamel,  and  objects  covered  with  it  are  described  as  enamelled. 
A  common  and  cheap  method  of  glazing  hard  faience  is  by 
throwing  salt  into  the  kiln  Avhile  the  objects  are  hot.  The 
soda  combines  with  the  silica  in  the  ware,  and  a  vitreous  glaze, 
known  as  salt-glaze,  results. 

For  this  Report  an  arbitrary  grouping  is  preferred,  chiefly 
with  a  view  to  convenience  of  description.  The  objects  are 
grouped  according  to  their  uses  rather  than  by  their  material 
or  manufacture.  The  faience  and  porcelains  of  the  principal 
countries  are  first  considered ;  next,  the  mural  and  .floor 
tiles,  as  a  distinct  and  largely  represented  branch  of  ceramic 
industry ;  third,  terra-cotta,  bricks,  etc.  ;  and  fourth,  the 
materials  used  and  their  distribution.  In  each  of  these  divis- 
ions there  was  a  profuse  representation  in  the  Exposition  ;  and 
a  thorough,  critical,  and  explanatory  description  would  have 
required  much  more  space  and  time  than  have  beeu  at  com- 
mand. In  general,  only  the  salient  features  are  touched  upon. 
The  writer  has,  as  far  as  possible,  brought  prominently  forward 
the  uames  of  the  principal  exhibitors,  recognizing  in  this  the 
discharge  of  a  duty  to  them  as  well  as  to  the  public.  Every 
exhibitor  at  a  great  exhibition,  who  makes  a  display  worthy 
of  the  occasion,  does  so  at  no  small  outlay  of  time  and 
money,  and  he  is  justly  entitled  to    all  of  the  advantages 


PORCELAIN    AND    FAIENCE.  233 

which  such  participation  can  give ;  and  one  of  the  greatest  of 
these  advantages  is  publicity  through  the  reports. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  notice  all  that  was  interesting  in 
this  group.  Many  important  displays  have  not  been  men- 
tioned, partly  for  reasons  already  given,  and,  in  some  cases, 
from  the  difficulty  or  impossibility  of  obtaining  any  informa- 
tion coucernino:  them.  In  the  abseilce  of  exhibitors  or  their 
agents,  and  the  presence  of  the  notice, — "Visitors  are  not 
allowed  to  touch  the  objects," — little  can  be  learned  that  is 
afterwards  available  in  a  report.  The  reporter  would  here 
direct  the  attention  of  exhibitors  in  future  exhibitions  to  the 
importance  of  preparing  a  concise  printed  statement  of  the 
chief  facts  concerning  their  products,  for  the  information  of 
those  whose  attention  is  specially  directed  to  them.  Such 
facts  and  descriptions  can  be  verified  by  examination,  and 
modified,  if  need  be,  to  conform  to  the  opinions  of  the  exam- 
iner. With  such  information  at  hand,  the  exhibitor  need  not 
always  l)e  present,  and  will,  in  any  case,  be  spared  many 
questions  while  benefiting  the  public  as  weU  as  himself. 

Some  idea  of  the  great  extent  of  the  exhibition  in  the  ce- 
ramic department  may  be  gained  from  the  ftict  that  over  one 
hundred  and  sixty  awards  were  made.  The  number  of  ex- 
hibitors was  of  course  much  greater,  but  I  have  not  been  able 
to  obtain  it.  In  the  British  section  alone,  there  were  thirty- 
six. 

II.      POROELAII^      AI^D      FaIENCE. 
GREAT    BRITAIN. 

The  ceramic  productions  were  the  most  salient  features  of 
■the  exhibition  from  the  United  Kingdom.  They  occupied 
the  most  favored  place  in  the  grand  transept,  next  to  the 
superb  metal  work  of  the  Messrs.  Elkington.  They  gave  the 
most  gratifying  evidence,  of  the  substantial  growth  of  the 
artistic  element  in  Britain.  This  advance,  together  with  that 
shown  in  the  metal-work  referred  to,  in  the  furniture,  carpet- 
ings,  and  decorative  art  generally,  may  be  accepted  as  the 
result,  in  great  part,  of  the  eflbrts,  since  the  Exhibition  of 
1851,  for  general  art-education  in  Great  Britain. 

30 


234  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

When,  in  1762,  the  people  of  the  pottery  region  petitioned 
Parliament  in  favor  of  an  Act  for  a  turnpike  road,  they  set 
forth  that  in  Burslem  and  the  neighborhood  there  were  nearly 
one  hundred  and  tifty  separate  potteries  for  making  various 
kinds  of  stone  and  earthen  ware,  employing  and  supporting 
nearly  seven  thousand  people.  Many  tons  of  shipping,  and 
seamen  in  proportion,  were  employed  in  winter  carrying 
materials  for  the  Burslem  ware,  and  as  much  salt  was  used 
for  glazing  as  paid  an  annual  duty  of  £5,000  to  the  govern- 
ment. 

In  ten  months  of  1871  there  were  90,412  packages  of 
North  Staffordshire  ware  exported  from  Liverpool.  The 
total  value  of  the  exports  of  porcelain  and  earthenware  from 
the  kingdom — the  greater  part  of  which  was  produced  in  the 
Staffordshire  potteries — amounted,  in  ten  months  of  1871,  to 
£1,423,110  in  value.  This  is  about  the  same  as  in  1864  and 
1865,  the  value  of  the  production  being  in  the  latter  year 
£1,442,000.  The  annual  consumption  of  coal  in  the  art,  in 
1865,  was  about  450,000  tons,  and  in  1870,  according  to 
official  returns,  680,000  tons.  To  color  the  clay  and  print 
the  ware,  in  1865,  about  67,000  pounds  of  oxide  of  cobalt 
were  used,  and  1,100  tons  of  borax  and  boracic  acid  in  glaz- 
ing, and  12,000  ounces  of  gold  in  gilding.  About  4,500 
tons  of  calcined  bones  from  South  America  were  consumed 
annually.  In  1861,  40,697  persons  were  engaged  in  the 
manufacture. 

English  porcelain  is  said  to  differ  from  either  the  j)dfe  dure 
or  the  j)Cii^  tendre  of  the  French,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  to 
combine  the  qualities  of  both.  A  high  degree  of  trans- 
lucency  is  obtained  by  the  use  of  phosphate  of  lime.  It  is 
not  as  plastic  as  hard  porcelain,  but  may  be  cast,  moulded, 
or  turned  easily  in  the  ordinary  ways.  It  combines  well  with 
the  frits  of  the  jpdte  tendre,  and  with  glazes  adapted  to  colored 
decorations. 

The  exhibitors  deserve  great  credit  for  their  liberal  repre- 
sentation of  the  industry,  by  sending  to  such  a  great  distance 
so  many  bulky  and  fragile  objects  of  great  value.  The  more 
important  of  the  collections  will  now  be  briefly  noticed. 


POEOELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  .    235 

Minton's,  Stohe-ujpon-Trent,  and  28  Walbrooh,  London. 
— This  well-kuowu  firm  made  a  fine  display  of  china  and 
earthenware,  dinner,  dessert,  tea,  and  toilet  services ;  china, 
majolica,  and  parian  vases,  statuettes  and  other  ornaments  ; 
enamelled  tiles  for  walls,  grates,  hearths,  and  fl.ower-boxes. 
To  this  enumeration  must  be  added  a  novelty  in  British 
manufacture,  j9d^e-si(r-2?d^e  decoration,  a  process  which  origi- 
nated at  Sevres  in  1847,  under  Ebelman,  though  known  long 
before  in  China.  A  series  of  plates  and  some  vases  gave 
satisfactory  evidence  of  the  complete  success  which  has  at- 
tended the  efforts  to  introduce  the  process  in  England,  by 
the  aid  of  M.  Solon,  from  Sevres,  who  removed  to  England 
during  the  Franco- German  war.  The  nature  of  the  process 
is  indicated  by  the  name  :  the  design  is  worked  upon  the 
plate  in  paste  or  thin  porcelain  body,  the  same  as  the  body 
of  the  plate  itself.  But  the  body  of  the  plate  or  foundation 
for  the  design  is  previously  colored  a  pale  celadon  green  or  a 
darker  color  (some  w^ere  dark-brown  or  black),  and  the  de- 
sign, being  worked  over  this,  permits  the  color  to  be  seen 
through  the  thin  or  depressed  portions  after  vitrification,  and 
thus  deepens  or  forms  the  shades,  while  the  thicker  portions 
of  the  paste  show  less  of  the  ground-w^ork  color,  are  higher, 
and  give  the  lights  an  appearance  of  a  higher  degree  of  relief 
to  the  surface  than  actually  exists.  When  the  design  is 
finished  and  the  piece  is  fired  and  glazed,  the  translucency  of 
the  design  is  heightened,  and  the  whole  forms  a  homogeneous 
mass. 

This  series  of  specimens  attracted  great  attention,  and  all 
were   sold  before   the    close   of    the    exhibition    to   various 
museums,  as  high  as  $100  being   paid  for  a  single  plate. ' 
One  of  these  plates  may  be  seen  at  the  Boston  Athenasum. 

Pate  Change  ante. 
The  Messrs.  Minton  also  make  the  peculiar  chameleon 
ware,  or  pate  changeante,  which  appears  of  one  color  by  solar 
light  and  another  by  artificial  light.  In  the  daylight  it  is  a 
grayish  or  celadon-green,  and  at  night  is  pink  or  crimson. 
This  kind  of  paste  was  invented  by  the  chemist  Regnault, 
when  Director  of  the  Sevres  establishment. 


236  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


Henri-deux  Ware. 
The  Mintons  also  exhibited  specimens  of  another  remarkable 
form  of  decorative  ware — imitations  of  the  celebrated  faience 
of  Henri-deux.  These  specimens  were  much  admired,  and 
commanded  high  prices  from  amateur  collectors.  They  were 
copies  of  famous  pieces.  Among  them  were  two  tall  salt- 
dishes  or  stands,  one  of  which  was  purchased  by  a  citizen  of 
Boston  and  presented  to  the  Athenaeum,  where  it  can  be  seen. 
The  difficulty  and  expense  attending  the  manufacture,  make 
these  objects  very  costly,  but  the  price  is  doubtless  high  in 
proportion  to  the  extreme  rarity  of  the  ware,  and  the  limited 
demand  for  it.  Of  the  original  ware,  there  are  said  to  be 
only  fifty-five  pieces  known.  There  are  twenty  enumerated 
in  the  list  of  photographs  of  specimens  in  the  collections  at 
South  Kensington,  including  two  in  the  Louvre.  Brougniart 
in  his  treatise  says  that  about  thirty-seven  were  known  in 
France.*  This  ware  has  always  excited  great  interest  among 
collectors  and  connoisseurs,  based  upon  its  intrinsic  beauty 
and  novelty,  and  its  extreme  rarity.  The  pieces  have  sold 
for  fabulous  prices.  An  aiguiere,  or  ewer,  belonging  to  Mr. 
Magniac  was  purchased  for  £80  at  the  sale  of  M.  Odiot's 
collection  in  1842,  and  shortly  after  was  sold  for  £96,  and 
has  since  been  valued  at  £2,000.  A  circular  plateau  in 
the  South  Kensington  Museum,  purchased  originally  by  M. 
Espoulart,  of  Mans,  for  £3  4s.,  was  bought  in  1857  for  £140. 
At  the  sale  of  the  collection  of  the  Comte  de  Pourtales,  in 
March,  1865,  the  "Bibornon"  was  purchased,  by  Mr. 
Malcolm,  for  the  sum  of  £1,100.  This  Biberon  is  one  of  the 
best  known  specimens  of  the  ware.  A  capital  figure  is  given 
in  Brougniart,  pi.  xxxvii.  It  stands  a  little  over  ten  inches  in 
height,  and  bears  the  arms  of  France  with  a  coronet,  and  the 
initials  and  emblems  of  Diane  de  Poitiers.  The  ciphers  and 
armorial  bearings,  which  appear  on  so  many  specimens, 
indicate,  beyond  doubt,  that  this  ware  was  the  favorite  at  the 
brilliant  court  of  Francis  L,  and  Henry  II.  Its  origin  was 
for  a  time  in  doubt,  and  has  been  the  subject  of  much  specu- 

*  At  that  time  the  most  interesting  specimens  were  in  the  possession  of  M. 
Saurageot,  M.  Odiot,  M.  Preaux,  and  M.  Count  Pourtales.  The  Ceramic  Museum 
at  Sevres  had  only  two. 


PORCELAIN  AND  FAIENCE.  237 

lation,  but  it  is  now  conceded  .that  it  was  made  at  Oiron,  iu 
the  south-west  of  France. 

In  composition  it  is  a  faience  of  superior  quality,  the 
paste,  according  to  an  analysis  by  M.  Salvetat,  of  the  Sevres 
laboratory,  consisting  of, 

Silica,     .         .         .         .  .         .         .         .         .     59. 

Alumina,         .         .         .  .         .         .         .         .40,24 


99.24 


without  lime  or  magnesia,  and  only  a  trace  of  iron.  It 
withstands  high  firing  without  change,  and  is  quite  white. 
M.  Salvetat  was  also  satisfied  that  the  glaze  did  not  contain 
tin.  Brongniart  notes  the  fact  that  this  white  earthenware 
body  was  made  in  France  long  before  the  first  attempts  to 
manufacture  white  earthenware  in  Great  Britain,  which  dates 
from  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  or  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  But  the  distinguishing  peculiarity  of 
the  Henri-deux  ware  remains  to  be  described.  The  orna- 
mentation is  inlaid,  filling  incisions  or  depressions  in  the 
body,  though  flush  with  the  surface.  For  this  filling,  pastes 
colored  with  ochre  were  chiefly  used,  and  the  designs  in 
general  appear  of  an  ochrey  brown  or  yellowish  color  on  the 
white  groundwork.  But  black,  blue,  pink  and  green  colors 
are  known.  It  is  believed  that  this  inlaying  was.accomplished 
by  means  of  moulds,  the  intricate  interlacing  designs  being 
first  carved  upon  a  model  from  which  casts  were  taken.  The 
paste  pressed  in  the  moulds  so  formed,  received  the  designs 
in  iutaglio,  and  the  spaces  were  afterwards  filled  with  a  soft, 
colored  paste,  the  whole  operation  being  similar  to  that  of 
making  encaustic  tiles.* 


'ts 


EoYAL  PoECELAiN  WoEKS,  Worcester. — These  works, 
now  under  the  management  of  Messrs.  Phillips  &  Binns, 
with  Mr.  R.  W.  Binns,  F.  S.  A.,  as  the  Art  Director,  made  a 
most  attractive  display  of  the  specialties  of  their  production, 
notably  of  ivory-porcelain  in  Japanese  forms  and  decoration ; 

*  For  details  with  figures,  reference  is  made  to  Bronguiart's  treatise,  ii,  pp.  176-178. 


238  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

of  porcelain,  majolica,  enamelled  terra-cotta,  vitreous  stone- 
ware and  fine  earthenware. 

The  principal  branches  of  manufacture  at  the  present  time 
are  fine  porcelain  and  stoneware,  for  services  of  all  kinds ; 
also  fine  earthenware,  parian  for  useful  and  ornamental 
objects,  terra-cotta,  and  the  novelty  "ivory  porcelain."  The 
decorations  include  all  the  usual  styles  for  useful  wares, 
paintings  of  flowers,  birds,  landscapes,  figures,  etc.,  etc. 
The  ornamental  works  consist  of  enamels  on  royal  blue 
ground,  Raphaelesque  embossments,  majolica,  painting  of  all 
kinds  on  vases,  etc.,  majolica  and  the  ivory  porcelain.  This 
last  is  a  new  article  having  the  color  and  lustre  of  ivory,  and 
it  is  especially  well  adapted  to  the  imitation  of  the  remark- 
able objects  in  ivory  for  which  Japanese  artists  are  unrivalled. 
These  objects,  so  successfully  imitated  by  the  works,  consist 
generally  of  vases  formed  of  sections  of  the  tusk  of  the 
elephant,  of  jugs,  bottles,  flasks,  etc.,  and  of  tablets,  all 
embossed  or  carved  in  relief,  or  deeply  incised  and  variously 
decorated  in  colored  laquers,  and  with  bronze  and  gold.  In 
these  reproductions  of  Japanese  forms  and  decorations,  the 
Worcester  artists  have  been  remarkably  successful.  They 
are  not  servile  imitations,  but  the  true  spirit  of  Japanese 
decorative  art  appears  to  have  been  acquired  and  to  be  well 
understood.  In  this  ware  there  are  at  least  three  points  of 
merit :  first,  composition  of  the  body,  its  successful  imitation 
of  the  softness  of  ivory  harmonizing  completely  the  material 
with  its  carved  appearance ;  second,  the  perfection  of  the 
forms  ;  and  third,  the  mastery  of  the  spirit  and  the  color  of 
the  decoration.  Plaques  made  in  this  way  would  be  agree- 
able additions  in  the  decoration  of  cabinets  and  furniture,  or 
wherever  ivory  tablets  would  be  appropriate.  The  material 
gives  a  new  and  pleasing  basis  for  graphic  decoration  in  any 
style. 

The  manufacture  of  fine  porcelain  was  commenced  at 
Worcester  in  the  year  1751,  and  the  first  royal  patent  was 
given  in  1789.  Tiie  undertaking  originated  chiefly  through 
the  exertions  of  Dr.  J.  Wall,  a  physician  with  chemical  skill 
and  artistic  tastes.  ■  As  early  as  the  year  1763,  the  productions 
of  the  establishment  were  highly  esteemed.  Dr.  Wall,  at  an 
early  date,  applied  the  process  of  transferring  printed  de- 


PORCELAIN    AND   FAIENCE.  239 

signs  to  a  glazed  surfiice  to  the  decoration  of  his  porcelain. 
The  earliest  known  date  of  this  printed  ware  is  1757,  upon  a 
jug  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Museum  of  Practical  Geol- 
ogy, London.  The  design  is  in  black,  over  the  glaze ;  and 
the  pieces  so  decorated  were  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  en- 
amel kiln  only.  The  invention  of  under-glaze  printing  soon 
followed,  the  designs  being  transferred  to  the  unglazed  bis- 
cuit. Robert  Hancock,  who  had  studied  under  Ravenet  at 
the  enamel  works  at  Battersea  in  1750,  was  the  engraver  of 
the  early  designs  for  transfer. 

The  earliest  Worcester  porcelain,  according  to  Mr. 
Binns,  *  was  made  of  a  frit  body,  and  he  thinks  that  the 
following  formula  is  similar  to  that  used  by  Dr.  Wall :  sand, 
120  parts;  gypsum,  7;  soda,  7;  alum,  7;  salt,  14;  and 
nitre,  40.  After  fritting,  it  was  crushed,  and  75  parts  were 
mixed  with  15  of  whiting  and  10  of  pipe-clay.  The  glaze 
used  contained  38  per  cent,  of  red-lead,  27  of  sand,  11  of 
ground  flints,  15  of  potash,  and  9  of  carbonate  of  soda.  For 
common  ware  an  inferior  paste  was  made,  containing  steatite. 
This  gave  a  body  less  dense  than  the  other,  and  of  a  yellowish 
color. 

Attention  was  early  given  to  the  imitation  of  Chinese  and 
Japanese  wares,  induced  by  the  high  estimation  in  which 
oriental  porcelain,  or  china,  was  then  held.  And  with  that 
depraved  pandering  to  public  prejudice,  which  seems  to  be 
one  of  the  great  vices  of  the  ceramic  art,  false  marks  were 
sometimes  affixed,  especially  to  these  early  imitations. 

A  crescent  is  one  of  the  earliest  ordinary  marks,  as,  also, 
a  script  W,  and  afterwards  the  name  or  initials  of  the  firm, 
either  stamped  in  or  printed.  A  Chinese  fretted  square, 
marked  in  blue,  was  frequently  employed.  Oriental  charac- 
ters were  also  marked  in  blue  on  some  of  the  pieces,  and  a 
specimen  in  the  Geological  Museum  has  the  Dresden  mark  of 
two  crossed  swords  in  blue  under  the  glaze. 

Specimens  were  shown  of  the  beautiful  tea-set  presented 
to  Lord  Dudley  on  his  marriage.  The  decoration  consists  of 
turquoise  blue  enamel,  put  on  in  drops  near  together,  so  that 

*  "  A  Century  of  Potting  in  tlie  City  of  Worcester,  being  the  History  of  the  Royal 
Porcelain  Works  from  1751  to  1851,"  by  R.  W.  Binns,  F.  S.  A.,  I860,  p.  40.  Also,  in 
De  La  Beche,  "  British  Pottery  and  Porcelain." 


240 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


the  surface  appears  to  be  thicMy  set  with  turquoise.  Each 
cup  and  saucer  is  carefully  mounted  in  a  stuffed  morocco  case. 
The  small  set  of  six  pieces  was  valued  at  about  $6,000. 


Wedgwood,  Josiah  &  Sons,  Etruria,  SiaffordBliire. — 
This  well-known  establishment,  identified  with  the  growth  of 
artistic  pottery  in  Britain,  was  worthily  represented  by  some 
of  its  best  productions  of  the  jasper  or  Wedgwood  ware  : 
white  bas-reliefs  on  colored  grounds,  unglazed  imitations  of 
the  famous  Henri-deux  Avure  ;  art-pottery  paintings  by  M. 
Lessore ;  paintings  on  raw  enamel,  by  M.  Bean ;  majolica 
vases;  dessert  and  fancy  articles.  Also  by  enameljed, 
printed,  and  cream-colored  earthen  ware  ;  chemical  and  tele- 
graphic, and  sanatory  and  plumber's  ware.  Wedgwood's 
basalts  are  dark  porcelanous  biscuits  of  great  hardness,  and 
capable  of  receiving  a  high  polish.  They  resist  acids,  and 
bear  a  high  degree  of  heat  without  injury.  The  white  porce- 
lain biscuit  has  similar  properties.  The  jaspar  bodies  are 
peculiarly  adapted  to  cameo  portraits  and  all  bas-relief  decor- 
ations, as  the  ground  may  be  of  any  desired  shade  of  color, 
while  the  raised  figures  are  white.  The  basis  of  many  of  the 
medallions  and  plaques  is  the  white  body  overlaid  by  a  coat- 
ing of  the  dark.  I  have  tested  the  hardness  of  these  tablets, 
and  find  them  scarcely  inferior  to  quartz,  or  about  ^\  on  the 
mineralogical  scale,  being  superior  to  felspar.  They  are  still 
made  at  the  works  from  the  original  moulds  by  Flaxman. 
According  to  the  chemist  Salvetat,  Wedgwood  ware  consists 
of— 

Silica,  .         .         ...         .         66.49 


Alumina, 
Oxide  of  iron 
Lime, 
Magnesia, 
Alkalies, 


26.00 
6.12 
1.04 
0.15 
0.20 


The  "  jaspar  ware "  may  be  regarded  as  a  vitrified  stone- 
ware of  fine  quality.  The  vitrifying  substances  added  to  the 
clay  body  are  flint,  ground  glass,  felspar,  sulphates  and  car- 
bonates of  lime  and  of  barytes.  White  jaspar  contains  from 
15  to  30  per  cent,  of  plastic  blue  clay,  0  to  15  per  cent,  of 


PORCELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  241 

kaolin,  0  to  15  of  Cornish  stone,  or  40  to  50  per  cent,  of  these 
clay  materials,  to  which  is  added  25  to  45  per  cent  of  sul- 
phate of  barytes,  0  to  10  per  cent,  of  flint,  and  0  to  2  per 
cent,  of  gypsum.  Twenty  per  cent,  of  calcined  bone  is 
sometimes  added.  Half  of  one  per  cent,  of  cobalt  gives  this 
body  a  blue  color ;  one  per  cent,  of  chrome,  a  dark  green ; 
nickel,  a  light  green  ;  copper,  bluish  green.  Basalts  and  the 
Egyptian  ware  are  made  by  introducing  some  forty  per  cent, 
of  burnt  ochre,  and  sometimes  ten  per  cent  of  mill  iron  cin- 
der.* In  addition  to  the  bas-relief  unglazed,  and  jasper 
ware,  the  establishment  now  turns  out  annually  large  quanti- 
ties of  the  ordinary  stone-china  glazed  ware,  plain  and  dec- 
orated. Full  dinner-services,  ornamented  with  fern  leaves, 
flowers,  or  autumn  leaves,  can  be  had  at  the  works  for  be- 
tween £10  and  £11.  The  printing  of  armorial  bearings, 
crests,  or  monograms  upon  the  ware  from  engraved  copper- 
plates, is  an  important  branch  of  the  decorative  work. 
Plates  so  ornamented  to  order,  and  with  a  single  band  of 
color  at  the  edge,  can  be  had  at  7s.  Be?,  the  dozen. 

No  porcelain  is  now  made.  Its  production  was  carried  on 
for  a  short  time  about  the  year  1808  by  the  nephew  of  Mr. 
Wedgwood.  A  small  amount  of  majolica  is  manufactured, 
and  some  ornamental  objects,  among  them  examples  of  the 
^'^  email  ombrant"  which  consists  of  depressed  designs,  chiefly 
of  human  figures  and  animals,  into  which  transparent  colored 
enamel  is  allowed  to  flow. 

The  following  list  of  pieces,  composing  complete  dinner 
and  dessert  services,  and  a  scale  of  prices  for  services  and  for 
pieces  separately,  at  Etruria,  will  be  found  useful  for  refer- 
ence and  comparison  : — 

*  Beckwith's  Pottery,  etc.,  p.  24. 
31 


242 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


Earlhenware  Table  Scale. 

(Gilding  of  Covered  Pieces  exti 

•a.) 

tT'O  >, 

S'2  J? 

Gilding. 

III 

.£•2  3 

KATE. 

s.    d.     s.    (3. 

y  1  = 
s.    d. 

s.    d. 

s. 

d. 

s.    d. 

s. 

d. 

s.    d. 

Plates,  9  in.  and  10  in.,  doz.. 

a 

2    6 

2    9 

2 

3 

2    6 

2 

9 

3    0 

"                          8  in.,      " 

o 

§ 

2    0 

2    4 

1 

9 

2    0 

2 

4 

2    6 

MufiBns                    7  in.,      « 

rt 

53 

1     9 

2    0 

1 

6 

1    9 

2 

0 

2    3 

"                         6  in.,      " 

P4 

3 

1    6 

1    9 

1 

3 

1-   6 

1 

9 

2    0 

Flat  Dishes,           22  in.,  each. 

•n 

4    6 

5    0 

4 

6 

5    3 

6 

0 

6    6 

"         "                20  in.,      " 

o 

•d 

3    0 

3    6 

3 

0 

3    6 

4 

0 

4    3 

18  in.,    ." 

B 

a> 

2    0 

2    6 

2 

0 

2    6 

2 

9 

3    2 

"         "                16  in.,      " 

_g 

1    3 

1    6 

1 

3 

1    6 

2 

0 

2    2 

"         "                14  in.,      " 

H 

£ 

0  11 

1    2 

0 

11 

1     2 

1 

4 

1     6 

"                12  in.,      " 

bp 

&D 

0    8 

0  10 

0 

8 

0  10 

0 

11 

1    0 

10  in.,      " 

S 

C 

0    4^ 

0    6 

0 

4^ 

0    6 

0 

7 

0    8 

"                 9  in.,      " 

T^ 

0    3^ 

0    4 

0 

H 

0    4 

0 

5 

0    6 

Round  Dishes  1  size  higher. 

3 

s 

Fish    Drainers    same    as    the 

Q 

• 

dishes  they  fit. 

03 

<U 

Gravy  Dish,  22  in.,         .  each. 

_o 

o 

_ 

_ 

6 

0 

6    6 

7 

0 

9    3 

"  ■      "       20  in.,         .      " 

^ 

p^ 

- 

- 

4 

6 

5    0 

5 

6 

6    3 

"       18  in.,         .      " 

- 

- 

3 

6 

4    0 

4 

6 

5    0 

"     ■  "       16  in.,         .      « 

- 

- 

- 

- 

3 

0 

3    6 

3 

9 

4    3 

Soup  Tureen  and  Cover, 

11  in.,  .        .        .        .      " 

2    4 

2    6 

3    6 

4    0 

4 

0 

4    0 

4 

6 

5    0 

Soup  Tureen  Stand,       .      " 

0    8 

1    0 

1    0 

1    3 

1 

3 

1    6 

1 

6 

1    8 

Ladle,       ._     " 

0    6 

0    6 

1    0 

1     3 

1 

0 

1    0 

1 

2 

1    2 

Sauce  Tureen  and  Cover,"     " 

1    0 

1     2 

0    8i 

0  10 

0 

8h 

0  10 

1 

0 

1    2 

"          "       Stand,       .      " 

0    4 

0    6 

0    3^ 

0    4 

t) 

H 

0    4 

0 

5 

0    5i 

Ladle,       .      " 

0    3 

0    4 

0    3^ 

0    4 

0 

3 

0    4 

0 

4 

0    4| 

Coverdish,  12  in.  3  div. 

- 

- 

- 

- 

3 

6 

4    0 

4 

6 

5    0 

"           12  in.    .        .      " 

- 

- 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2    4 

2 

9 

3    3 

11  in.    .        .      " 

1    6 

1    9 

1    6 

2    0 

1 

6 

1     9 

2 

0 

2    3 

"           10  in.    .        .      "   '' 

1    3 

1    9 

1 

3 

1     6 

1 

9 

2    0 

"              9  in.    .        .      " 

8  in.    .        .      "  , 

- 

- 

1     0 

1    4 

1 

2 

1    4 

1 

7 

1    9 

- 

- 

0  10 

1    0 

1 

0 

1    2 

1 

5 

1    6 

"          Drainers,  half-price 

« 

of  Coverdish,                 each. 

Salad,  11  in.,  . 
"      10  in.,  . 

;:  j 

1    3 

1    6 

r- 

- 

1 

6 
3 

1     9 
1    6 

2 
1 

0 
9 

2    3 
2    0 

Oval  Bakers,  12  in.. 

- 

- 

0    8 

0  10 

0 

11 

1     0 

1 

3 

1    4 

11  in.. 

- 

- 

0    7 

0    9 

0 

9 

0  10 

1 

0 

]     2 

"         "        10  in., 

- 

- 

0    6 

0    8 

0 

7 

0    8 

0 

9 

0  11 

"         "          9  in.. 

- 

- 

0    4 

0    6 

0 

6 

0    7 

0 

8 

0    9 

"         "          8  in.. 

- 

- 

0    3i 

0    5 

0 

^ 

0    5 

0 

6 

0    7 

7  in., 

- 

- 

0    3 

0    4 

0 

4 

0    ih 

0 

5 

0    6 

Round   or  Deep    Bakers  one 

size  hiijher,  each. 

Cheese  Stand,  11  in.,      .  each, 

- 

- 

_ 

- 

1 

9 

2    0 

2 

3 

2    4 

"          "        10  in.,      .      " 

- 

- 

- 

- 

1 

3 

1     6 

1 

9 

2    0 

Boats  and  Picklea,        .     " 

0    4 

S  6d.  ? 
1  4d.  I 

0    2h 

0    4i 

0 

H 

0    4 

■  0 

4^ 

0    5 

Boats  and  Stands,  .        .      " 

0    4 

0    6 

0    7 

0    9 

0 

7 

0    8 

0 

9 

0  10 

Hot  Water  Plate,  10  in.,      " 

- 

- 

1    4 

1    6 

1 

4 

1     6 

1 

7 

1     8 

"        "         "         8  in.,      " 

- 

- 

1     0 

1     2 

1 

0 

1     1 

1 

3 

1     6 

Beef  Steak  Dish,  14  in.,      " 

3    0 

3     6 

5    6 

7     0 

5 

6 

6    0 

7 

0 

8    0 

"      12  in.,      " 

6 

3    0 

4    6 

5    0 

4 

6 

5    0 

5 

6 

6    0 

Hash  Dish,  14  in., .        .      " 

3    0 

3     6 

- 

- 

4 

0 

4    6 

5 

0 

5    6 

Root  Dish,  12  in., .        .      " 

3     0 

3    6 

5    0 

5    6 

5 

3 

5    6 

6 

0 

6    6 

"      llin., .        .      " 

2     6 

3     0 

4    3 

4    6 

4 

3 

4    6 

5 

0 

6    0 

£  s.  d. 

£  s.  d. 

£  s 

.d. 

£  s.  d. 

£  . 

.d. 

£  s.d. 

Dinner  Service  for  18  persons,  . 

0  15  7 

0  IS  8 

2  13  8 

3    2  2 

3  11   7 

3  19  3 

Dinner  Service  for  12  persons,  . 

0  13  7 

0  16  4 

2 

1  1 

2     7  8 

2  1411 

3   Oil 

PORCELAIN   AND   FAIENCE. 


243 


Earthenware  Dinner  Service 


FOR  EIGHTEEN  PERSONS. 

FOR   TWELVE  PERSONS. 

54  Plates,  10  in. 

36  Plates,  10  in. 

18  Soups,  10  in. 

12  Soups,  10  in. 

36  Plates,    8  in. 

24  Plates,    S  in. 

1  Dish,     20  in. 

1  Dish,     18  in. 

1     "         18  in. 

2     "          16  in. 

2     "          16  in. 

2     "    .     14  in. 

2     "          1-1  in. 

2     "          12  in. 

4     "          12  in. 

4     "          10  in. 

4     "          10  in. 

1  Soup  Tureen  and  Stand. 

4     "           9  in. 

2  Sauce  Tureen  and  Stand 

1  Soup  Tureen  and  Stand. 

2  Sauce  Boats  and  Stands. 

4  Sauce      "              ' " 

4  Vegetable  Dishes. 

4  Vegetable  Dishes. 

1  Salad  Bowl. 

1  Salad  Bowl. 

1  Fish  Drainer. 

1  Fish  Drainer. 

1  Pie  Dish,  11  in. 

1  Pie  Dish,  11  in. 

2         "            9  in. 

2         "            9  in. 

1  Cheese  Stand. 

1  Cheese  Stand. 

Earthenware  Dessert  Service 


FOR  EIGHTEEN  PERSONS. 

18  Dessert  Plates. 
4  Low  Comports. 
4  Tall 


FOR   TWELVE   PERSONS. 

12  Dessert  Plates. 
4  Low  Comports. 
2  Tall 


Earthenware  Toilet  Service 


DOUBLE   SET. 

2  Ewers  and  Basins,  6's. 
2  Chambers,  6's. 
2  Soap  Boxes. 
2  Brush  Trays. 


SINGLE   SET. 

1  Ewer  and  Basin,  6's. 

2  Chambers,  6's. 
1  Soap  Box. 

1  Brush  Tray. 


John  Mortlock,  Oxford  Street,  London,  exhibited  china, 
breakfast,  dinner,  dessert,  and  tea  services,  of  Minton's 
manufacture,  with  stone-china  dinner-services  of  Minton  and 
of  Wedgwood's  ware,  decorated  by  the  artists  Solon,  Mussill, 
Coleman,  and  others. 


Daniell,  a.  B.,  &  Son,  46  Wigmore  Street,  London, 
exhibited  pottery  and  porcelain,  dinner,  dessert,  breakfast, 
and  tea  services,  besides  toilet  ware,  majolica  vases,  and  or- 
namental objects  of  various  makers.     This  firm  ofiered  deco- 


244  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

rated  iron-stone  china  dinner  services  at  from  60  to  80  florins 
the  set  ($30  to  $40)  ;  a  fern  pattern  set  for  six  persons  for  85 
florins  ($42). 

DouLTON,  H.,  &  Company,  28  High  Street,  Lambeth,  Lon- 
don, exhibited  an  interesting  and  important  series  of  "  blue 
metallic  clay  goods"  for  pavings,  copings,  ridge-tiles,  chan- 
nellings,  and  curbings,  and  for  use  in  buildings  where  extra 
strength  is  required.  Also,  a  collection  of  artistic  stone- ware 
mugs,  jars,  flagons,  etc.  These  last  were  especially  interest- 
ing as  examples  of  what  may  be  accomplished  with  the  cheap- 
est and  commonest  materials  in  artistic  hands.  The  objects 
were  very  pleasing,  and  the  prices  moderate.  Each  article  is 
hand-made,  and,  while  it  is  soft,  designs  are  drawn  upon  the 
surface  with  a  sharp-pointed  style,  leaving  a  deeply-incised* 
line,  into  which  the  faintly-colored  salt  glazing  flows  and  fills 
it  flush  with  the  surface.  The  designs  consist  chiefly  of 
birds,  animals,  and  flowers.  Twenty  or  thirty  artists  are 
employed,  and  the  articles  produced  are  in  great  demand. 
For  this  manufiicture,  the  clays  of  Devonshire  and  Dor- 
chester, with  the  sand  of  Woolwich  and  of  Charlton,  are 
chiefly  used.  The  clays  are  simply  dried  and  broken  up, 
and  mixed  with  the  sand  in  proportions  determined  by  the 
quality  of  the  ware  desired.  The  paste,  after  kneading  and 
beating  to  secure  complete  mixture  and  solidity,  is  passed 
between  cast-iron  rollers.  The  objects  are  burned  with  coal 
in  open  kilns  of  the  Stafibrdshire  pattern,  and  are  glazed  with 
salt. 

A  good  collection  of  this  pottery  can  be  seen  at  the  rooms 
of  the  Household  Art  Company,  Boston. 

FRANCE. 

The  French  section  afibrded  an  excellent  apergu  of  the 
condition  of  the  ceramic  art  in  that  country.  There  were 
many  exhibitors,  each  producing  some  special  forms  or  char- 
acters of  ware.  Although  there  was  an  abundance  of  deco- 
rated porcelain,  there  was  a  stronger  and  more  striking  repre- 
sentation of  artistic  enamelled  faience,  majolica,  highly- 
colored  wall  tiles,   and  imitations  of  the  ware   of  Bernard 


PORCELAIN    AND    FAIENCE.  245 

Palissy.  The  lovers  of  artistic  decoration  lingered  over  the 
display  made  by  Deck,  admiring  not  only  the  high  chimney- 
piece,  bnt  the  large  plates  and  ornamental  objects  decorated 
by  paintings  from  the  hands  of  masters  in  the  art.  Their 
names,  well  known  to  connoisseurs,  displayed  on  a  large 
mural  tablet  in  enduring  enamels,  are  as  follows  :  Messieurs 
Anker,  Bennier,  Collin ;  Mademoiselle  Escallier ;  Messieurs 
Gluck,  Hirsch,  JuUien,  Legrain,  Kannier,  and  Rieber. 

Parvillee,  Leon,  Paris,  1  Rue  Neuve-Fontaine-8t. 
Georges,  at  the  angle  of  the  Rue  de  Douai,  exhibited  a  variety 
of  decorative  objects,  vases,  plates  and  platters  in  enamelled 
terra-cotta,  in  Persian  patterns  remarkable  alike  for  brilliancy 
of  colors  and  the  sharp-dividing  lines  of  the  designs,  the  enam- 
els being  in  high  relief.  The  basis  of  these  wonderfully-tine 
enamels  is  the  red  terra-cotta  or  earthenware.  The  designs 
have  been  obtained  directly  from  Persian  work  and  manu- 
scripts. The  specimens  attracted  much  attention  from  con- 
noisseurs, and  most  of  them  were  sold  early  in  the  season  to 
the  agents  of  the  art  museums  of  Europe.  One  of  the  finest 
examples — a  vase  of  peculiar  form,  with  tall  narrow  neck  and 
sculptured  handles — was  secured  by  a  citizen  of  Boston  for 
the'Art  Museum  in  that  city. 

Interior   Decoration  in  Enamel. 

M.  Parvillee  has  executed  -many  important  works  for  in- 
terior decoration  in  the  oriental  style,  and  exhibited  a  port- 
folio of  manuscript  designs  in  colors  of  the  apartments  which 
have  been  decorated  by  him  with  his  enamelled  plaques  and 
tiles. 

The  enamels  of  M.  Parvillee  are  opaque  and  have  consider- 
able relief.  The  colors  are  extremely  pure  and  clear,  and 
are  laid  on  with  care, — the  same  precaution  of  drawing  a 
dark  dividing  or  marginal  line  between  each  color,  as  in  the 
specimen  described  from  Choisy-le-E,oi,  being  taken.  In 
Parvillee's  specimens,  however,  the  enamels  appear  to  have 
been  put  directly  upon  the  white  earthenware  paste  without 
glaze,  which,  apparently,  was  added  afterwards  for  the  in- 
terior and  edge  of  the  vessel. 

If  the  large  pieces   of  interior  decoration  are  carried  out 


246  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

with  the  accuracy  of  detail  characterizing  the  ornamental  ob- 
jects, they  must  be  extremely  costly.  They  are  very  differ- 
ent from  the  bolder  and  rougher  work  on  terra-cotta,  designed 
chiefly  for  exteriors.  One  of  the  chief  works,  by  the  cele- 
brated Luca  clella  Eobbia, — reputed  to  be  the  discoverer  of 
stanniferous  enamels  in  Europe, — was  the  decoration,  in  en- 
amelled terra-cotta,  of  a  room — a  writins^-cabinet — for  Piero 
di  Cosimo  Medici,  about  the  year  1464.  It  Avas  lined 
throughout,  walls,  ceiling,  and  pavement,  a-nd  the  parts  were 
so  perfectly  fitted  together  that  it  appeared  to  be  all  in  one 
piece.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  remarkable  medallions 
illustrating  the  seasons,  now  in  the  South  Kensington 
Museum,  originally  formed  a  part  of  the  decoration  of  this 
cabinet,  which,  unfortunatel}^  no  longer  exists,  and  is  known 
only  through  tradition  and  the  writings  of  Vasari.* 

Choist-le-Koi,  H.  Boulenger  :  Depot  in  Paris,  Rue  de 
Paradis  Poissonniere  4. — Objects  of  utility  and  ornament, 
in  faience,  "  granite,"  and  "  half-porcelain."  A  great  variety 
of  objects  are  made  at  this  establishment,  and  were  on  exhi- 
bition, such  as  articles  for  the  toilet,  for  perfumers,  pharma- 
cists, plumbers,  and  decorators ;  dessert  sets,  candlesticks, 
flower-pots,  tiles  for  jardinieres,  clock-stands,  match-box'es, 
vases,  etc.,  etc.  They  also  imitate  the  faience  of  Rouen, 
Italy,  Nevers,  the  enamelled  plaques  of  Persia,  and  the  por- 
celain of  China  and  old  Sevres. 

A  round  plaque,  in  Persian  style,  is  remarkable  for  the 
relief  of  the  enamel  and  the  distinctness  aiid  brilliancy  of 
the  colors.  It  is  ten  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  and 
has  a  projecting  annular  support  below,  giving  greater 
strength  to  the  piece  without  adding  much  to  the  weight. 
The  basis  or  ground-work  is  ordinary  earthenware,  of 
white  body,  glazed  in  white,  like  stone-china.  The  upper 
surface  is  highly  decorated,  with  opaque  colored  enamels 
laid  upon    the  wlaite    enamel    covering   the   whole.       There 

*  Liica  della  Robbia  "\vas  born  in  the  year  1400,  and  is  distinguished  for  his  meri- 
torious artistic  productions  in  marble,  terra-cotta,  and  bronze.  The  frieze  of  the 
singing  boys,  in  the  Museum  of  tlie  Uffizii  at  Florence,  and  tlie  bronze  gates  of  the 
sacristy  of  the  Duomo  in  Florence,  are  examples  of  his  labors  in  these  materials.  He 
is  supposed  to  have  introduced  tbe  use  of  stanniferous  enamels  in  Italy  in  the  year 
1438,  with  a  view  to  the  execution  of  indestructible  paintings. 


PORCELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  247 

are  eight  different  colors.  Tlie  design  appears  to  be  car- 
nation pinks,  treated  conventionally,  quartering  within  an 
arabesque  border  of  brilliant  yellow  dividing  the  area  of 
the  flowers  from  an  outer  margin  of  a  beautiful  deep  blue 
color.  The  ground-work  of  the  central  portion  is  white, 
being  the  general  glazed  surface  upon  which  the  enamels  are 
laid.  The  great  element  of  beauty  in  such  a  plaque  is  the 
relief,  with  a  curved  surface,  of  the  design.  It  may  be  said 
to  calcli  and  reflect  the  lisjlit.  The  desio^n  is  visible  and  bril- 
liant,  when  viewed  obliquely,  in  any  position.  There  is  no 
one  best  light  in  which  to  view  it.  Instead  of  the  blinding 
glare  of  a  plain  mirror-like  surface,  the  design  stands  out 
clearly  and  brilliantly,  looking  as  if  the  flowers  were  laid 
upon  the  plat.e.  This  remarkable  relief,  in  some  portions  to 
the  extent  of  one-eighth  of  an  inch,  appears  to  be  due,  in  the 
first  place,  to  the  composition  of  the  enamel  and  management 
of  the  heat,  which  permits  incipient  fusion  without  flowing. 
It  is  evidently  not  very  fluid  in  the  fire,  and  does  not  seem  to 
have  any  special  affinity  for  the  ground-work  glaze,  for  it 
does  not  spread  upon  it.  The  diflerently  colored  enamels 
would,  however,  unite,  where  they  are  placed  side  by  side, 
were  it  not  for  a  narrow  dark  line  of  a  brown,  earthy  charac- 
ter, which  is  traced  around  every  part  of  the  design,  isolating 
each  patch  of  colored  enamel,  and  apparently  prcventiug  the 
flow  by  sinking  into  and  drying  iqo-,  so  to  speak,  the  soft 
vitreous  surface  of  the  glaze.  It  also  serves  the  purpose  of 
"  setting  off"  each  part  of  the  design,  and  adds  to  the  general 
effect.  It  is  a  dead,  earthy  surface,  without  lustre  or  relief. 
Girard,  in  reporting  upon  the  beautiful  enamels  of  Collinot 
in  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1867,  says  that  the  absolute  neat- 
ness of  outline  is  obtained  by  tracing  around  each  flower  a 
cupreous  composition,  which,  being  modified  by  the  fire, 
gives  a  metallic  cavity,  retaining  the  enamel  in  its  place. 
This  suggests  doissonee;  but  the  border  in  the  Choisy-le-Roi 
specimen,  and  in  .Deck's  enamels,  has  no  metallic  appearance 
and  does  not  form  any  cavity.  It  simply  presents  a  surface 
repellant  to  the  flow  of  the  enamel,  as  a  line  of  wax  or  oil  re- 
pels water. 


248  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

Thierry-Poulin,  manufacturers  of  'porcelain  and  faience: 
depot,  48  Rue  Caumartin,  Paris. — This  establishment, 
among  other  objects,  exhibited  dinner-services  in  white 
faience,  decorated  in  brilliant  colors  with  flowers  and  leaves 
of  the  natural  size,  such  as  passion-flowers,  branches  of  cur- 
rants, lilies,  convolvulus,  and  hazel-nuts, — all  remarkable  for 
fidelity  to  nature  in  the  drawing  and  coloring.  The  price  of 
such  sets  complete  is  400  francs. 

Sergent  :  depot  Avenue  d' Orleans  106,  Paris. — Manu- 
facturer of  artistic  faience  and  paintings  upon  faience,  imita- 
tions of  the  Pallisey  ware,  relief  plaques  and  majolica. 

Barbizet. — Majolica  and  imitations  of  Bernard  de  Palissy's 
w^orks. 

Geoferoy. — Yellow  and  blue  enamels,  etc. 

Slabs  for  Furniture. 

HouRY,  Jules,  Paris.  A  specialty  by  this  exhibitor  is 
slabs  of  porcelain,  with  figures  in  relief  covered  with  a 
transparent  blue  glaze.  They  are  designed  chiefly  for  set- 
ting in  furniture,  the  tops  and  sides  of  caskets,  and  for 
tables.  The  glaze  is  thin  on  the  high  lights  and  collects  in 
the  depressions,  thus  enhancing  the  efiect  of  low  relief. 
The  process  is  like  that  for  producing  email  ombrant,  but 
the  design  is  the  reverse,  being  raised  instead  of  depressed. 
The  British  artisan  (Locke)  in  describing  this  work  says  : 
"  The  slabs  are  modelled  in  stems  and  leaves  in  low  relief 
and  then  covered  with  a  beautiful  blue  glaze ;  the  color  is 
wiped  oft'  the  high  parts  of  the  modelling  and  looks  as  if 
the  light  had  fallen  across  it  and  the  blue  falls  into  the 
shadows.  It  must  not  be  compared  with  the  majolica  made 
in  England,  which  is  similar  in  treatment,  for  the  tone  of 
the  blue  was  bright  and  pure  and  the  design  suited  the  pur- 
pose. It  gives  us  an  idea  of  what  good  things  can  be  done 
without  much  labor.  *  *  *  j  should  like  to  see  the  Eng- 
lish use  their  decorated  porcelain  in  objects  of  use  more 
than  they  do,  for  this  exhibitor  shows  what  can  be  done 
with  it." 

The  jury  made  Honorable  Mention. 


POECELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  249 


LusTEED  Ware. 

Brianchon  I.  AiNE,  Paris.  This  exhibitor  confined  his 
display  to  a  variety  of  specimens  of  ornamental  objects,  cov- 
ered with  a  very  brilliant  pearly  or  nacreous  glaze,  semi- 
metallic  in  appearance,  and  to  the  eye  of  a  chemist,  evidently 
due  to  the  partial  reduction  of  oxides  in  the  glaze  to  a  metal- 
lic state.  There  is  a  great  variety  of  tints,  from  pearly 
white  to  a  rose  pink;  and  some  of  the  objects,  such  as 
shells,  where  the  iridescent  surface  is  peculiarly  fitting,  are 
very  pleasing  to  the  eye. 

This  is  a  modification  of  an  ancient  art,  which  was  long 
kept  a  secret.  Its  revival  in  France  is  due  to  M.  Brianchon, 
who  has  succeeded  admirably,  making  his  pieces  Avith  more 
certainty  and  brilliancy  than  the  old  masters  of  the  secret 
could  attain.  The  early  invention  is  attributed  to  the  cele- 
brated maestro,  Georgio  Andreoli,  whose  lustred  wares  are 
so  highly  prized  by  collectors.  The  purple  or  silver-lustred 
ware  of  Stafi'ordshire  is  similar.  The  process  was  intro- 
duced there  in  Wedgwood's  time,  but  has  never  made 
great  progress.  M.  Brianchon's  process  consists  in  making 
enamels  of  nitrate  of  bismuth,  iron,  uranium,  nickel  or 
cobalt,  and  adding  a  reducing  agent,  such  as  resin  or  essen- 
tial oils.  Objects  of  this  nature  have  also  been  made  at 
the.  Royal  Porcelain  Works,  Worcester,  and  by  the  Beleek 
Company  in  Ireland. 

This  exhibitor  received  a  Merit  Medal. 

Sevres  Manufactory. 

There  was  no  formal  exhibition  of  Sevres  products,  but 
the  celebrated  porcelains  of  this  noted  establishment  were 
not  •unrepresented.  Auiongst  other  pieces  and  collections 
the  dessert  service  of  Sevres  pate  tendre  should  be  noticed. 
It  dates  from  the  year  1765,  and  is  a  beautiful  turquoise 
blue  in  color.  It  was  exhibited  by  Prince  Nicolas  Repine, 
of  Kiev,  Russia. 

The  scientific  as  well  as  the  artistic  development  of  the 
ceramic  art,  owes  much  to  the  laborious  investigations  and 
experiments  pursued,  for  a  long  series  of  years  at  this  estab- 
lishment, under  the  direction  of  such  savans  as  Brongniart,. 

32 


250  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Regnault,  Ebelman  and  Salvetat.  Chemical  science  was 
needed  and  was  freely  used  to  throw  light  upon  the  great 
empirical  art.  Results  of  great  practical  value  to  ceramic 
industry  followed.  The  composition  of  foreign  porcelains, 
of  clays  and  mixtures,  was  ascertained.  The  principles  of 
the  art  of  combining  were  established,  and  the  secrets  of 
glasses  and  enamels,  and  colors,  were  unlocked  and  discov- 
ered to  the.  world.  We  can  scarcely  measure  the  influence 
upon  the  potter's  art  of  such  an  establishment.  And  in 
judging  of  the  quality  of  productions  of  private  manufacto- 
ries as  compared  with  its  productions,  we  should  remember 
the  superior  advantages  enjoyed  by  the  union  of  science  with 
the  accumulated  experience  handed  down  through  genera- 
tions, and  preserved  by  royal  patronage. 

Sevees  as  a  School  or  Aet. 

At  the  London  Exhibition  of  1851,  the  jury  unanimously 
assigned  the  first  place  to  the  products  of  the  Sevres  manu- 
factory, and  awarded  the  Council  Medal.*  They,  however, 
very  justly  point  out  the  fact  that  the  light  in  which  these 
products  should  be  regarded  is  wholly  diflerent  from  that  in 
which  the  productions  of  commercial  industry  should  be 
viewed.  The  Sevres  productions  are  rather  those  of  a 
richly-endow^ed  school  of  design,  and  in  the  French  exhibi- 
tions they  have  not  been  placed  in  competition  with  the  re- 
sults of  private  enterprise.  The  influence  of  Sevres  as  a 
school  of  design  has  extended  over  the  whole  of  Europe,  and 
many  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  porcelain  produced 
elsewhere  are  imitations,  or  slight  modifications,  of  the  old 
productions  of  the  Sevres  school. 

As  early  as  1698,  the  porcelain  products  at  Saint  Cloud 
were  thought  to  be  equal  in  quality  to  those  of  China.  The 
manufticture  was  continued,  in  1708,  by  the  Brothers  Dubois, 
under  the  protection  of  the  Prince  de  Conde.  But  they  did 
not  succeed  at  Saint  Cloud  or  at  Chantilly.  They  removed 
to  Vincennes,  but  failed  again.  In  1745,  a  company  was 
formed,  under  the  royal  patronage,  with  special  privileges  for 
thirty  years;  but,  in  1753,  this  was  revoked,  and  the  king 
became  interested  to  the  extent  of  a  third,  and  the  establish- 

*  Eeports  of  tlie  Juiy,  p.  542. 


POECRLAIN    AND    FAIENCE.  251 

ment  was  removed  to  Sevres.     The  first  success  is  said  to 
date  from  1768. 

Hard  and  Soft  Poecelain. 

From  1753  to  1768,  only  the  j)dte  tendre,  or  soft  porcelain, 
was  made  ;  but,  from  that  time,  both  the  soft  and  the  hard 
were  made.  About  1804,  the  production  of  the  soft  porce- 
lain ceased,  M.  Brougniart,  tHe  director  of  the  works,  decid- 
ing to  give  his  attention  wholly  to  the  hard, — the  pdie  dure. 
But  the  use  of  the  soft  paste  was  resumed  in  1847  by  M. 
Ebelman,  he  taking  some  of  the  old  paste,  which  had  rested 
undisturbed  in  covered  tanks  for  forty-five  years.  The  pecu- 
liarities of  these  two  varieties  of  porcelain  are  described  by 
M.  Arnoux  in  his  report  on  the  pottery  and  porcelain  at  the 
Paris  Exhibition  of  1867,  as  follows  : — 

"  France  furnishes  the  largest  amount  of  hard  porcelain,  and  it  is 
there,  also,  that  it  is  best  manufactured.  France  is  highly  favored 
fftr  its  production  from  the  quarries  of  kaolin  which  abound  in  the 
centre  and  south.  This  material  suffices,  without  any  addition,  to 
constitute  the  body  ;  it  is  white,  eas}^  to  work,  and  takes,  in  firing,  a 
fine  transparenc}'.  The  glaze,  which  is  fired  at  the  same  time  as 
the  paste,  is  also  entirel}^  composed  from  felspathic  rocks,  and 
vitrifies  on  the'  surface  by  the  sole  intensity  of  the  heat  required  in 
the  firing.  Such  a  product  presents,  after  cooling,  great  consistency, 
and  the  hardness  of  this  glaze  will  defy  the  best  tempered  steel  in- 
struments. But  defects  arise  from  the  very  excess  of  these  qualities. 
This  hardness  leaves  little  resource  for  decoration  ;  the  fine  colors 
for  grounds  are  banished,  and  the  painting,  unincorporated  into  the 
glaze,  lies  upon  the  surface  and  looks  hard  and  unfinished.  This  is 
so  thoroughly  acknowledged  that  the  Paris  decorators  now  often 
prefer  to  paint  upon  French  cream-color  ware  instead  of  porcelain. 

"  The  manufacture  of  soft  porcelain  has  always  been  limited,  for 
it  is  the  most  difficult  of  all  pottery.  Its  inventors,  persuaded  that 
Chinese  porcelain  was  a  kind  of  glass,  persisted  in  composing  a 
paste  of  the  same  ingredients.  Sand,  lime,  and  some  alkaline  ma- 
terials were  therefore  vitrified  in  the  proportion  considered  desirable 
to  give  a  white  half-translucent  substance.  But,  as  after  being 
ground  it  had  not  the  least  plasticity,  and  could  not  be  worked, 
they  added  as  small  a  quantity  as  possible  of  the  calcareous  earth 
found  in  the  plaster-quarries  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris,  so  as  not 
to  injure  the  whiteness  or  transparency.     We  cannot  describe  here 


252  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

all  the  difficulties  that  the  manipulation  of  such  a  mixture  presented. 
It  could  neither  be  thrown  nor  pressed  into  moulds  in  the  ordinary 
way  ;  and  the  shapes  were  got  by  casting  it  in  thick  plaster  moulds, 
and  carefully  turning  and  pushing  it  b}'  hand  afterwards.  More- 
over, as  in  the  process  of  firing  this  porcelain,  so  properl}''  called 
pate  tendre,  the  pieces  were  verj'  apt  to  sink  and  lose  their  shape, 
the  way  of  propping  them  was  of  the  utmost  importance  ;  but  when 
the  biscuit  stage  was  safel}"  attained,  the  rest  was  comparatively 
eas}".  From  its  composition,  this' biscuit  had  the  greatest  affinity 
for  combination  with  the  vitreous  mixture  forming  the  glaze,  and 
the  result  was  that  this  glaze,  not  being  hardened  by  the  biscuit  on 
which  it  had  been  melted,  retained  all  its  softness  and  so  thoroughly 
incorporated  the  colors  of  the  painting  that,  after  firing,  they  looked 
sunk  into  it.  An  equal  advantage  was,  that  the  alkaline  nature  of 
the  biscuit  and  the  low  temperature  required  enabled  those  soft  and 
beautiful  ground-colors  to  be  used  which  are  not  to  be  met  with 
on  any  other  potter}^ :  the  green,  made  from  copper  of  an  unequalled 
transparency  ;  the  turquoise,  so  attractive  to  the  eye  that  a  single  piece 
placed  in  a  room  seemed  to  take  all  the  light  to  itself;  the  bleu-de- 
roi,  so  well  named  from  its  richness  ;  and  that  warm,  delicate  color, 
the  rose  du  Barry.  We  purposel}"  mentioned  the  low  heat  required 
to  incorporate  the  colors  with  the  glaze,  because  the  experienced 
potter  knows  their  richness  decreases  with  the  rise  of  temperature, 
and  this  is  the  reason  wh}^  for  grounds  in  hard  porcelain,  hardly 
more  than  two  colors  can  be  depended  on, — the  blue  from  cobalt, 
and  the  opaque,  heavy-looking  green,  from  chrome." 

A  large  number  of  vases  iu  hard  porcelain,  of  Sevres  man- 
ufacture, were  exhibited  in  1867,  and  M.  Arnoux  said  of 
them  that  the  forms  recently  adopted  were  less  beautiful  than 
in  1851  and  1855,  when  Messrs.  Dieterle  and  Klagmaun  gave 
their  assistance  to  the  establishment.  Amono;  the  best  were 
a  large  vase  from  Dieterle,  the  figures  painted  by  M.  Roussel, 
with  the  decorations  by  M.  Avise,  and  all  those  executed  by 
M.  Barry  at. 

Sevres  pate-sur-pate. 

And  of  that  variety  of  hard  porcelain  known  as  pdte-sur- 
pdte  (paste  upon  paste)  to  which  great  attention  has  been 
given  at  Sevres,  Mr.  Arnoux  observes  : 

"  The  name  of  pdte-sur-pdie  explains  sufficiently  the  proc- 
ess, which  consists  in  staining  the  body  of  the  hard  porce- 


PORCELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  253 

lain  in  celadon,  or  other  color,  by  the  addition  of  a  colored 
mixture,  of  which  oxide  of  chrome  is  generally  the  chief 
ingredient ;  and  then,  when  the  piece  is  still  in  the  clay 
state,  to  paint  or  rather  model  upon  it  with  a  brush,  using 
white  porcelain  body  as  the  pigment,  and  taking  advantage 
of  the  transparency  it  will  acquire  when  fired  to  produce  an 
effect  similar  to  that  obtained  in  the  Limoges  enamels,  by 
working  the  semi-transparent  enamel  on  a  black  ground. 
Consequently  the  artist  will  increase  the  thickness  of  the 
white  clay  for  the  high  lights,  and  decrease  it  where  the 
color  of  the  ground  is  to  be  seen  through.  Much  experience 
is  required  to  calculate  the  effect,  the  whit§  clay  before  firing 
being  equally  opaque  in  the  thin  as  in  the  thick  parts.  Of 
course  any  mistake  is  irremediable,  as  it  can  only  be  seen 
after  the  piece  is  fired.  It  was  from  studying  the  Chinese 
celadon  that  Mr.  Ebelman,  started  this  kind  of  porcelain. 
The  colors  used  on  account  of  the  high  degree  of  tempera- 
ture are  extremely  limifed."  To  chrome,  as  a  foundation 
color,  must  be  added  cobalt,  nickel  and  uranium,  which  are 
also  used  to  stain  the  clays  when  some  other  tint  is  wanted 
in  addition  to  the  white. 

Duriug  the  late  Franco-German  war,  the  Messrs.  Minton, 
of  England,  secured  the  service  of  M.  Solon,  the  artist  by 
whom  a  great  success  in  the  pdte-sur-pdte  process  had  beeit 
achieved ;  and  we  now  find  the  results  in  the  beautiful  speci- 
mens displayed  by  the  firm  at  Vienna.      Vide  p.  235. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  impossibility  of  moulding 
or  working  the  soft  paste  porcelain  by  throwing,  in  the  ordi- 
nary way,  owing  to  its  want  of  plasticity. 

Casting  Poecelain  Body. 
Since  the  year  1850,  the  method  of  casting,  rather  than 
of  moulding  objects,  has  been  in  use.  The  paste  being 
made  thin,  so  as  to  flow  like  water,  is  poured  into  the 
plaster  moulds,  which  absorb  a  part  of  the  water  and  cause 
a  thin  film  of  the  paste,  or  body,  to  adhere  to  the  sides.. 
The  excess  is  decanted.  This  gave  lightness  and  perfec- 
tion of  form  to  the  objects,  such  as  cups  and  small  vases, 
but  the  process  did  not  succeed  with  large  objects,  inasmuch 
as  in  the  decantation  the  paste,  adhering  to  the  upper  part, 


254  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

became  deformed  by  its  weight,  drawing  it  away  from  the 
sides  of  the  mould.  To  overcome  this  difficulty  the  large 
moulds  were  encased  in  an  air-tight  jacket  of  sheet  iron, 
within  which  the  air  was  exhausted  previous  to  the  decanta- 
tion,  thereby  causing  the  deposited  film  to  adhere  firmly  to 
the  sides  of  the  porous  plaster.  This  improvement  was 
cited  in  1867,  by  M.  Dommartin,  as  one  of  the  advances 
made  in  the  art  of  manufacturing  hard  porcelain.*  A  large 
vase  made  in  this  manner  was  exhibited  at  Paris  in  1867. 

Extent  or  the  Industry  in  France. 

The  following  data  regarding  the  pottery  and  porcelain 
industry  of  France  are  drawn  from  the  report  by  Messrs. 
Salvetat  and  Dommartin  in  1867.  Clay,  for  pottery  pur- 
poses, is  found  in  almost  every  part  of  France.  The  best 
china  clays  are  found  at  St.  Yrieix,  near  Limoges  ;  but  the 
kaolins  of  the  Pyrenees,  the  Cher  and  the  Allier  are  largely 
used.  The  manufacture  of  porcelain  is  carried  on  in  three 
districts.  1.  Limousin,  which  comprises  Haute  Yienue  and 
the  Creuse.  At  Limoges,  in  this  district,  there  were  more 
than  thirty  white  china  works.  2.  Berry,  including  the 
works  of  Cher,  Allier,  Mevre  and  Indre.  These  works  pro- 
duce chiefly  white  china  and  articles  of  common  use.  3.  Pari^ 
'and  its  environs  and  Champagne.  The  productions  of  Paris 
are  varied.  The  fancy  articles  known  as  Articles  de  Paris, 
such  as  flowers,  cups,  baskets,  etc.,  are  made  by  several 
small  makers.  Others  produce  biscuit- ware,  or  articles  for 
mounting  in  ormolu,  bronze  or  carved  wood,  such  as  lamps 
and  tazzas.  Many  persons  receive  white  porcelain  from  the 
trade,  and  decorate  it  according  to  the  demand  of  the  day. 
Although  not  confined  to  Paris,  it  may  be  regarded  as  essen- 
tially Parisian. 

Earthenware  is  made  in  Paris,  at  Beauvais,  and  in  some 
parts  of  Normandy.  Fine  faience  is  made  chiefly  at  Creil, 
Montereau,  Sarreguemines,  Choisy  le  Roi,  Gien  and  Bor- 
deaux. Artistic  faience  has  its  centre  in  Paris  and  its  envi- 
rons. In  1867,  Messrs.  Salvetat  and  Dommartin  pointed  out 
that  in  the  manufacture  of  faience,  steam  power  tended  to 

*  Rapports  du  Jury  Internationale,  iii.  171. 


POECELAIN    AND    FAIENCE.  255 

replace  hand  labor ;  and  the  introduction  of  English  methods 
had  transformed  the  manufacture.  Also  that,  as  regards 
porcelain,  the  softening  caused  by  the  high  temperature 
required  for  the  baking,  deforms  pieces  ma<lc  in  any  other 
way  than  by  hand ;  and  that  up  to  that  time  no  mechanical 
assistance  had  been  found  available ;  but  there  was  good 
reason  to  hope  that  in  the  shaping  and  preparation  of  the 
material,  mechanical  art  might  eventually  lend  its  aid. 

Workmen  were  paid  by  the  piece.  No  less  than  1,362 
men  and  458  women  were  employed  in  decoration  of  china 
alone,  in  Paris,  in  1867.  The  greater  number  of  the  pot- 
teries have  agencies,  or  depots,  at  Paris,  or  send  their  ware 
there  for  sale.  Paris  is  the  great  centre  of  the  trade,  and 
Limoges  is  next  in  importance.  From  this  last  named  place, 
ware  is  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  empire,  by  the  aid  of  trav- 
ellers and  agents.  The  annual  value  of  the  product  of  fine 
faience  was  estimated,  in  1867,  at  10,000,000  francs,  and  of 
porcelain  at  20,000,000  francs. 

French   Stone-China. 

At  the  Paris  Exposition,  in  1867,  the  various  brands  of 
stone-china  ware  were  carefully  e'xamined  by  M.  Aime 
Girard,  with  reference  to  their  hardness,  porosity,  and  price. 
To  ascertain  the  hardness  of  the  glaze  upon  a  plate,  for  ex- 
ample, he  used  a  small  platform  of  wood,  sustained  upon 
three  points  resting  upon  the  plate,  one  of  them  being  tipped 
with  a  diamond.  This  platform  was  then  drawn  back  and 
forth  over  the  surface,  and  the  weight  required  to  be  added 
to  the  platform  to  produce  a  scratch  was  the  measure  of  the 
hardness.  He  found  that  a  pressure  of  more  than  one  kilo- 
gramme was  required  to  make  as  much  of  an  impression  upon 
hard  porcelain  as  one  hundred  and  twenty  grammes  would 
give  on  lead-glazed  stone  ware.  His  results  are  given  in  the 
following  table.* 

*  From  Rapports  dii  Jury  International,  III.,  p.  136. 


256 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


Comparison  of  the  principal  Mnds  of  fine  quality  Faience,  as  shown, 
at  the  Exhibition  in  Paris,  in  1867,  as  regards  their  quality  and 
price. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  FAIENCE. 

Hardness 

Grain. 

Price. 

Price. 

1.  SuPEEiOK  Quality. 

Francs. 

Francs. 

Sarreguemines  China,  France, . 

0^.625 

8.25 

2.0 

3.10 

Minton  &  Company's  white  glaze,    . 

0^.530 

1235 

2.95 

3.25 

Korstrand,  Sweden,  .         .    '     . 

OKUO 

9.43 

- 

3.00 

Gustafberg,  Sweden,         .... 

01^.480 

11.24 

2.20 

- 

2.  Second  Quality. 

Choisy-le-Roi, "  Granite  China"  (France) , 

0k.420 

11.23 

1.95 

3.15 

Stoneware  of  Villerry  and  Boch  (Prussia), 

0k.415 

13.14 

2.20 

8.80 

Stone-China  of  Finder  Bourne  (England) , 

0^.485  . 

10.00 

2.75 

2.95 

3.  Ordinary  Ware. 

Opaque  of  Sarreguimines,  France,  . 

0^620 

13.25 

1.50 

- 

Opaque  porcelain  of  Gien,  France, . 

01^.375 

14.50 

1.55 

260 

Cream  colored  ware,  Minton  &  Co.,  Eng., 

Ok.400 

8.20 

1.58 

- 

Opaque  porcelain  of  Creil,  France,  . 

0k.o05 

10.14 

1.55 

- 

Opaque  porcelain  of  Montereau,  France, 

0^.450 

15.40 

1.55 

2.50 

Half-porcelain  of  Choisy-le-Roi,  France, 

Ok.390 

11.31 

1.55 

2.25 

Cream  colored  ware, Copeland&Co., Eng., 

0k.340 

8.64 

2.60 

3.15 

Cream  colored  ware,  Wedgwood,  Eng., . 

01^.320 

8.57 

2.10 

2.95 

POECELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  257 

The  coliimu  representing  the  hardness  shows  the  weight 
required  to  produce  a  scratch  with  the  point  of  a  diamond. 
The  "  grain  "  or  degree  of  porosity  is  expressed  by  the  weight 
of  water  which  was  absorbed  by  one  hundred  grammes  of  the 
ware.  The  prices  were  furnished  by  the  manufacturers  or 
their  agents ;  and  in  the  first  column  are  for  a  dozen  white 
plates,  eight  inches  in  diameter  (twenty- one  centimetres)  ;  in 
the  second  column  for  the  same  number  and  size  of  decorated 
plates.  The  three  divisions  or  qualities  are  based  upon  the 
degree  of  whiteness  ;  the  third  all  having  more  or  less  of  a 
yellowish  tinge. 

PRUSSIA. 

EoYAL  Prussian  Porcelain  Factory,  Berlin. 

This  famous  establishment,  which  has  been  notably  repre- 
sented at  all  of  the  great  exhibitions,*  sustained  its  reputa- 
tion at  Vienna,  by  its  display  of  vases  and  ornamental  porce- 
lains of  various  kinds,  plastic  work  in  biscuit,  services,  and 
in  decorative  figures,  etc.  Plain  white  porcelain  is  also 
made. 

The  works  were  established  in  1763,  and  are  sustained 
chiefly  for  the  promotion  of  the  industry,  technically  and 
artistically.  In  the  year  1871,  the  production  amounted  to 
500,000  pieces,  worth  160,000  thalers,  from  raw  materials 
costing  11,050  thalers.  The  greater  part  of  the  product  is' 
for  home  consumption.  Three  hundred  and  three  workmen 
are  employed  and  two  steam-engines  of  40  horse-power. 

The  Eotal  Saxon  Porcelain  Works,  producing  what 
is  known  as  Dresden  porcelain,  are  established  at  Meissen,  a 
few  miles  above  Dresden.  The  establishment  was  founded 
by  Augustus  11.,  the  Elector  of  Saxony.  Tschirnhaus  and 
Bottcher,  two  alchemists  in  his  service,  commenced  to  make 
experiments  about  1706  ;  and  the  credit  of  making' the  hard 
porcelain  for  the  first  time  in  Europe  is  accorded  to  Bottcher. 
He  made  a  red  or  jaspar-like  ware,  which  could  be  cut  and 
polished  by  the  lapidary,  and  a  glazed,  brownish  red  ware. 

*  Gold  Medal  at  Paris,  1855 ;  at  Paris,  1867,  Hors  du  Co7icours. 
33 


258  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

He  discovered  the  method  of  making  white  porcelain  in  1709, 
and  he  was  appointed  Director  of  the  Meissen  works  in  1710. 
Five  years  later,  white  porcelain  of  excellent  quality  was 
commonly  made,  and  in  1720,  under  the  direction  of  Horoldt, 
excellent  paintings  with  gilding  were  produced.  Groups 
and  figures  were  modelled  in  1731,  and,  in  the  succeeding 
twenty -five  years,  the  productions  attained  their  greatest 
perfection.  The  varied  productions  of  the  establishment 
at  the  present  time  were  conspicuously  displayed  upon 
the  crimson-covered  canopied  stand  in  the  main  transept, 
adjoining  the  rotunda.  They  consisted  chiefly  of  the,  finer 
sorts  of  vases  and  decorated  ware,  and  fully  sustained 
the  high  reputation  of  the  works.  The  productions,  how- 
ever, include  ordinary  dinner-services  and  ware  for  domestic 
use,  much  of  it  decorated  in  cobalt  blue,  and  artificial 
ultra-marine ;  colored  enamels,  and  other  materials  for  the 
production  of  porcelain.  About  600  workmen  are  employed, 
and  the  value  of  the  product  annually  is  about  400,000  tha- 
lers  (in  1871,  370,000  thalers) .  The  market  is  chiefly  abroad. 
For  the  blue  decorated  dinner-services  there  is  a  great  de- 
mand, so  that  the  works  are  two  years  in  arrears  of  the 
orders. 

C.  TiELSCH  &  Co.,  Altivasser,  ScJilesien,  manufacturers  of 
]jorcelain,  stone-china,  aud  fire-hricJc. — The  consumption  of 
raw  materials  by  this  establishment  amounted  to  324,483 
thalers  in  value,  and  the  production  to  20,000,000  pieces, 
worth  750,000  thalers,  the  greater  portion  of  which  was  for 
home  consumption.  Forty-five  oflicers  and  foreman,  and 
about  1,700  workmen,  in  two  establishments  ;  seven  steam- 
engines,  with  an  aggregate  of  158  horse-power.  Founded  in 
1845.     Progress  Medal  awarded. 

Carl  Krister,  Waldenhurg,  Schlesien,  exhibited  table- 
services,  clocks,  vases,  etc.  There  are  two  establishments, 
founded  in  1831,  manufacturing  not  o-nly  porcelain  articles, 
but  bricks,  fire-bricks,  and  tiles.  They  make  a  specialty  of 
table  and  coflTee  services.  The  consumption  of  raw  materials, 
in  1871,  amounted  to  220,000  centners,  and  the  production 
to  039,000   thalers   worth,  mostly   for   home   consumption. 


PORCELAIN    AND    FAIENCE.  259 

Thirty-two  officers  and  overseers,  1,475  workmen;   G  stcam- 
eugines,  with  126  horse-power.     Merit  Medal  awarded, 

C.  Heckmann  &  Kappsilber,  Konigszelt,  Schlesien,  ex- 
hibited toilet-services,  table-services,  mosaics,  etc.  Estab- 
lished in  1864.  Make  a  specialty  of  table,  coffee,  and  toilet 
services.  Value  of  the  productions  in  1872,  270,000  tha- 
lers ;  sold  in  Germany.  Four  hundred  workmen,  2  steam- 
engines,  32  horse-power.     Diploma  of  Honor  awarded. 

"Waechtersbacher  Steingutfabrik,  Schlierhach,  Hes- 
sen-]Sfassau. — Coffee  and  tea  services.  Established  in  1834. 
Two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  workmen,  1  steam-engine, 
5  water- wheels. 

ViLLEROY  &  BocH,  Mettlo.ch,  Wallerfangen,  Sejjtfontaines 
and  Dresden.  This  establishment,  well  known  from  its  pro- 
ductions and  as  the  largest  in  existence,  probably,  for  the 
production  of  fine  faience,  made  an  attractive  display  of  its 
products  in  the  rotunda.  This  display  comprised  dinner  and 
dessert,  coffee  and  tea  services,  toilet  ware,  vases  and  orna- 
mental objects  in  fiuence  and  in  terra-cotta,  of  superior 
quality  and  decoration.  The  terra-cotta  plates,  platters  and 
tablets,  were  ornamented  by  incised  designs,  filled  in  with  the 
same  material  as  the  base  or  groundwork,  but  of  a  darker 
color,  as  encaustic  tiles  are  made.  This,  and  the  manu- 
facture of  tiles  by  pressure  from  pulverized  materials,  con- 
stitute specialties  of  the  establishment. 

The  productions  amount  in  value  to  1,000,000  of  thalers 
annually.  In  1871,  the  total  value  was  1,170,000  thalers. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  Germany  is  supplied  with  faience  from 
this  establishment,  and  at  such  low  prices  that  foreign  man- 
ufactures cannot  profitably  compete  for  the  trade. 

The  works  were  started  at  Wallerfangen  in  1789 ;  at 
Mettlach  in  1810;  at 'Septfoutaine  in  1767;  and  the  tile 
works  in  1868.  There  are  1,848  workmen,  36  officers,  7 
steam-engines,  217  horse-power.  Medals  were  awarded  at 
London  in  1851,  and  at  Paris  in  1855  and  1867.  The  jury 
awarded  the  Merit  Medal. 


260  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

The  firm  also  have  four  establishments  at  Dresden  for  the 
manufacture  of  stoneware,  especially  stove  tiles,  stoves  and 
paving  blocks.  They  made  about  320,000  thalers'  worth  of 
ware  in  1871.  Six  hundred  and  ten  workmen,  19  officers, 
3  steam-engines,  145  horse-power. 

Macheleidt,  Teiebner  &  Co.,  Volkstedt  hei  Rudol- 
stadt  SchvKtrzhurg-IliLdohtadt.  Exhibited  porcelain  figures, 
groups  and  medallions.  The  establishment,  wdiich  was 
founded  in  1760,  makes  a  specialty  of  medallions  for  wall 
decoration.  In  1871,  the  works  used  6,100  centners  of  raw 
materials,  worth  3,300  thalers.  Half  of  the  product  is 
exported.  Four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  workmen,  one 
water-wheel.     Diploma  awarded. 

Actien  Gesellschaft  fur  Telegeaphen-Bedarf,  Ber- 
lin. Manufacture  and  exhibited  telegraph  materials  of  por- 
celain, gas  retorts,  etc.     Merit  Medal. 

Thallmaier,  Fr.  X.,  Miinchen.  Establishment  founded 
in  1849.  Exhibited  services,  dishes,  vases,  etc.,  beautifully 
decorated.  Special  mention  should  be  made  of  a  service 
with  chrome-green  groundwork,  ornamented  with  arabesques 
apd  flowers,  and  of  the  artistic  cabinet  of  porcelain  paint- 
ings ;  original  copies  after  modern  masters.     Merit  Medal. 

Dressel,  KiSTER  &  Co.,  Scheihe,  Schioarzburg-Rudolstadt. 
Groups,  statuettes,  busts  and  porcelain  figures.  The  market 
for  these  productions  is  about  half  at  home  and  half  abroad. 
Nearly  610  workmen  are  employed.  Six  water-wheels,  24 
horse-power.     Merit  Medal. 

Also  at  Passau,  Bavaria,  established  in  1853,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  porcelain  figures,  fancy  articles,  and  stone-china 
ware.  This  establishment  makes  a  specialty  of  crucifixes, 
basins  for  consecrated  water,  etc.  Consumed,  in  1871, 
between  50,000  and  60,000  florius'  worth  of  porcelain  earth. 
Two  hundred  and  sixty  workmen,  five  water-wheels. 

Thevvaldt,  J.  HoMR,  JSFassau.  Stoneware  and  porcelain 
for  chemical  laboratories  and  culinary  purposes.     Established 


PORCELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  261 

ill  1792.  Consumed,  in  1871,  2,100  tlialers'  worth  of  raw 
materials.  Market  in  Germany.  Twenty-three  workmen, 
1  steam-engine  of  12  horse-power.     Diploma  awarded. 

WiNGENDER  BROTHERS,  Hdhv,  ffessen-JVcissau.  Exhib- 
ited clay  pipes,  cigar-holders,  etc.,  of  which  they  make 
some  5,000,000  pieces  of  all  kinds  annually,  valued  at 
18,000  thalers.  A  market  for  one-half  of  their  produc- 
tion is  found  in  Germany,  the  balance  is  exported-.  They 
employ  68  workmen.     Works  established  in  1798. 

ScHLESiscHE  Thonwaarenfabrik,  Tschauschioitz  JVeisse, 
ScliJesien.  Stoves,  majolica  building  ornaments,  refractory 
ware,  etc.  A  specialty  is  made  of  majolica  building  orna- 
ments. The  chief  market  for  the  products  is  found  in  Ger- 
many. There  are  204  workmen,  1  steam-engine  of  24 
horse-power.  Value  of  products  in  1871,  90,000  thalers, 
out  of  clay  worth  8,500  thalers. 

H.  J.  Nygen  &  Co.,  Duishurg,  Rhenish  Provinces.  An 
interesting  series  of  refractory  blocks,  shaped  carefully  for 
the  various  parts  of  high  furnaces,  cast-steel  furnaces,  rever- 
beratory  furnaces,  etc.,  was  exhibited  by  this  firm,  as  also 
gas-retorts,  crucibles,  etc.  The  '  productions,  in  1871, 
amounted  in  weight  to  360,000  centners,  and  in  value  to 
200,000  thalers.  Two  hundred  and  sixty-six  workmen 
employed,  The  greater  portion  of  the  product  is  used  in 
Germany.     Progress  Medal. 

Magdeburger  Bau-und  Credit  Bank,  Magdeburg.  Ex- 
hibited clay  goods,  glazed  and  painted  stove  tiles,  stoves, 
glazed  terra-cotta  ware,  building  and  paving  bricks,  fire- 
stones,  etc.  In  1871,  they  produced  85,000  thalers'  worth 
of  goods,  using  30,000  centners  of  clay,  216  workmen,  4 
steam-engines  of  19  horse-power,  14  ordinary  burning  ovens, 
1  Mendheim's  gas  ring-oven  with  18  chambers,  and  1  'Hoff- 
mann's rino;-oven  with  16  chambers. 


262  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


RUSSIA. 


Imperial  Porcelain  Manufactory.  This  imperial  estab- 
lishment, founded  in  the  year  1744,  and  located  near  St. 
Petersburg,  exhibited  products  comparable  with  the  finest  of 
Sevres,  Meissen  or  Berlin,  consisting  of  vases,  services,  plat- 
ters, jardinieres,  bouquet-holders,  biscuit-figures,  etc.  They 
were  all  remarkable  for  perfection  in  form,  color  and  exqui- 
site painting,  but  a  few  of  the  most  striking  objects  will  be 
mentioned.  In  biscuit,  nothing  could  be  finer  than  the  large 
bouquet  of  flowers  and  leaves,  showing  a  quality  of  paste 
unsurpassed  for  whiteness  and  working  capabilities.  Every 
petal  was  perfect,  and  almost  as  thin  as  in  nature.  Lace 
•pattern  dishes  bore  equal  testimony  to  the  perfect  control  of 
the  form  of  the  paste  in  firing.  A  tea-set,  antique  Chinese 
pattern,  decorated  with  flowers,  attracted  much  attention. 
Among  the  large  objects,  the  most  notable  were  the  porce- 
lain table-top,  three  feet  in  diameter,  snow-white  in  the 
centre,  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  forming  the  border,  perfect 
in  drawing,  color  and  every  detail ;  and  a  magnificent  vase 
six  feet  high,  painted  with  twelve  cupids,  dancing,  holding  a 
string  of  ivy.     This  vase  was  valued  at  $2,500. 

This  establishment  was  founded  in  1744.  It  employs  230 
workmen,  and  has  a  steam-engine  of  12  horse-power.  It 
has  4  furnaces  and  6  muffles.  The  annual  production  is 
valued  at  100,000  roubles. 

Repine,  Prince  Nicholas,  Kiev,  exhibited  a  beautiful  des- 
sert-service of  old  Sevres,  of  the  year  1765-1766  :  color, 
turquoise  blue.     See  "  Sevres." 

Stepanofe,  Michel,  Varsiluro,  Bogorodsk  District,  ex- 
hibited refractory  tablets  and  bricks,  alembics,  gas-retorts, 
etc.  The  establishment  was  founded  in  1871 ;  it  employs 
100  workmen,  14  horse-power  steam-engine,  and  the  produc- 
tion is  valued  at  200,000  roubles.     Diploma. 

There  was  also  in  the  Russian  section  a  fine  series  of 
earthenware,  domestic  utensils,  and  liquid  measures,  re- 
markable for  excellence  of  form  and  cheapness ;  but  no  infor- 
mation concerning  them  could  be  obtained. 


PORCELAIN  AND   FAIENCE.  263 


AUSTRIA. 


Imperial  Porcelain  Works,  Vienna. — The  maiuifacture 
of  porcelain  was  established  in  Vienna,  in  1717,  by  Blanquier. 
In  1716,  the  works  were  purchased  by  the  Empress  Maria 
Theresa  for  45,000  florins,  and  Blanquier  was  made  director. 
In  1750,  forty  men  were  employed;  in  176.1,  one  hundred 
and  forty;  in  1770,  two  hundred;  and  in  the  year  1780, 
three  hundred  and  twenty.  In  the  period  from  1760  to 
1790,  under  the  sculptor  Niedermayer,  the  production  of 
figures  and  groups  was  most  developed.  More  attention  was 
then  given  to  decoration  of  the  ware  by  painting,  under  the 
direction  of  the  chemist  Leithner,  who  produced  the  beautiful 
blue  color  known  by  his  name,  the  reddish  brown,  and  the' 
superb  gilding. 

The  first  artists  of  the  day  were  engaged  to  furnish 
sketches ;  and  amongst  the  artists  we  find  the  names  of 
Watteau,  Sancret,  Boucher,  and  Angelica  Kauffmann.  In 
1827,  Director  Niederma3^er  died,  and  the  establishment 
gradually  declined  in  importance  until  1864,  when  the 
Eeichsrath  refused  further  sums  for  its  maintenance  and 
stopped  operations.  The  models  were  destroyed,  and  the 
buildings  were  turned  into  an  imperial  cigar  factory. 

Private  porcelain  works,  zum  Eisgriihl,  had  been  estab- 
lished in  1702,  and  this  firm  came  into  possession  of  most  of 
the  stock  on  hand  in  the  imperial  works,  and  has  since  con- 
tinued the  manufacture  on  a  smaller  scale. 

Fischer,  Moritz  von,  Herend,  near  Weszprim,  Hungary. 
— This  famous  establishment  has  its  chief  depot  in  Vienna, 
and  made  a  very  extensive  display  of  all  its  reproductions  of 
celebrated  manufactures  of  porcelain,  chiefly  of  old  Sevres, 
Meissen,  old  Chinese,  and  old  Japanese.  Here  could  be  seen 
counterparts  of  the  raised  flower-work  of  Saxony,  of  the  open 
perforated  basket-work  ware,  of  old  Vienna  porcelain,  and  of 
the  Italian  Capa  di  Monti.  These  imitations  are  much 
sought  for,  and  are  the  basis  of  an  extensive  business. 
Most,  if  not  all,  are  distinctly  marked  with  the  maker's  name 
and  place  of  manufacture,  so  that  no  deception  or  mistakes 
can  result.     Some  ordinary  Chinese  and  Japanese  ware  is 


264  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

tolerably  well  imitated ;  but  there  is  a  notable  failure  in  the 
attempts  at  the  finer  and  distinctive  peculiarities  of  the  best 
pieces  from  those  countries. 

Two  large  portraits  on  porcelain,  by  this  exhibitor,  merit 
special  mention  :  one  of  Humboldt,  with  a  porcelain  frame 
about  three  feet  by  two  feet,  and  another  of  Paul  Esterhazy, 
sixteen  inches  by  twelve.  Another  example  of  a  portrait, 
with  a  frame  of  porcelain,  and  all  in  one  piece,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Japanese  section. 

A  perforated  tea-set,  in  Chinese  style,  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  was  purchased  by  him.  A 
large  vase,  with  Chinese  decoration,  is  also  w^orthy  of  men- 
tion.    The  jury  decreed  a  Progress  Medal. 

FiscHEE,  Ignaz,  Buda-Pesth,  Hungary,  exhibited  speci- 
mens of  painting  on  porcelain,  to  which  the  jury  decreed  a 
Diploma  of  Honorable  Mention . 

Alois  Klammerth,  Znaim. — A  collection  of  quaint  and 
cheap  pottery,  in  red,  black,  and  yellow  enamels,  and  mostly 
of  articles  for  common  domestic  use,  kitchen  utensils,  etc. 
The  forms  were  simple,  but  elegant,  and  the  quality  was  ex- 
cellent. They  are,  withal,  sold  at  a  very  low  price.  Some 
of  the  ware  is  decorated  by  furning  or  scraping  off  the  dark- 
colored  glaze  before  firing,  so  as  to  expose  the  light-colored 
body  below ;  and  an  excellent  effect  is  produced.  Progress 
Medal. 

Franz  Schleiss,  Gemunden  am  Traunsee,  exhibited 
quaintly  colored  faience  and  majolica  blue,  white,  yellow, 
and  green  ;  also,  kitchen  ware  and  drinking-mugs,  all  of  odd 
patterns  and  coloring.     Merit  Medal. 

Haas  &  Czjzek,  Schlaggemvald  and  Chodau,  near  Carls- 
bad, in  Bohemia. — This  firm  made  a  fine  display  of  choice 
porcelain  in  the  rotunda.  It  comprised  dinner  and  dessert 
services,  tea-sets  and  ornamental  vases,  etc.  Some  of  the 
tea-sets  were  exquisite  in  form  and  decoration.  Price,  124 
florins.  A  superb  dinner-service,  for  twenty-four  persons, 
was  ticketed  1,560  florins.     The  exhibition  made  by  this  firm 


PORCELAIN   AND   FAIENCE.  265 

at  Paris,  in  1867,  received  the  silver  medal,  and  at  this  exhi- 
bition receives  the  Progress  Medal. 

Deuk,  Albin  AV.,  Vienna,  exhibited  some  beautifully 
decorated  porcelain  and  imitations  of  French,  Meissen,  and 
Chinese  ware.  The  firm  exports  to  Russia  and  the  Orient 
alone,  over  10,000  cwts.  annually.     Merit  Medal. 

Erndt,  Bernard,  Vienna,  ix,  Pramergasse,  25. — Among 
the  many  attractive  displays  of  stove  tiles  from  Austria, 
Hungary  and  Bohemia,  the  exhibition  made  by  M.  Erndt 
stood  preeminent.  A  description  of  the  various  patterns  and 
colors  would  fill  a  small  volume ;  but  no  adequate  idea  of  the 
tiles  can  be  conveyed  without  plates.  Most  of  them  are  in 
high  relief,  and  are  colored  rich  dariv  brown  or  green,  or  are 
plain  white.  They  are  about  eight  inches  square  and  three 
to  six  inches  thick.  They  constitute  a  specialty  in  ceramic 
manufactures,  difiering  greatly  from  paving  or  mural  tiles  or 
household  pottery.  The  use  of  such  tiles  is  enormous  in 
Austria  and  Germany,  nearly  all  the  apartments  being 
warmed  by  the  "porcelain  "  stoves.  The  great  merit  of  this 
exhibit  was  recognized  by  a  Progress  Medal. 

Gebruder  ScHUTZ.  Stiermark  and  in  Bohemia  ;  Earthen- 
ware. A  very  interesting  exhibition  of  quaintly  formed 
pitchers  and  jugs,  with  long  narrow  necks  and 
flattened  sides,  as  shown  in  the  annexed  outline, 
standing  about  sixteen  inches  high,  and  colored 
bright  blue,  vermilion  and  green.  Upon  the  same 
stand  there  were  plates  and  a  cofi'ee  service  of 
earthenware,  with  a  rich  chocolate  brown  glaze, 
very  attractive  not  only  in  color  but  in  form,  and 
very  cheap,  the  whole  coffee  set  being  marked  at  only  four 
florins,  about  two  dollars.     The  jury  accorded  a  Merit  Medal. 

Hardtmuth,  L.  &  C,  Budioeis.  This  firm  made  an 
extensive  display  of  peculiar  styles  of  porcelain  and  faience, 
designed  especially  for  export  to  the  Orient,  with  which  it 
would  appear  there  is  an  extensive  trade  in  this  class  of 
ware,  the   chief  excellence  of  which  seems   to  be  its  con- 

34 


266  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

formity  in   shape   and  decoration  to   old-fashioned,  obsolete 
styles.     Merit  Medal. 


SWEDEN. 

There  were  two  principal  exhibitors  of  porcelain  and  earth- 
enware in  the  Swedish  section,  both  showing  the  possession 
of  excellent  materials  and  skill  in  the  manufacture.  Feld- 
spar, one  of  the  principal  materials  used  in  porcelain,  is 
obtained  abundantly  in  Sweden,  and  is  exported  in  quanti- 
ties to  England. 

KoRSTRAND  PoRCELAiN  WoRKS,  SlocJcJiolm.  The  display 
from  this  establishment  was  very  interesting,  consisting  of 
porcelain  vases,  urns,  dinner-services,  plates,  cups  and 
saucers,  etc.  The  tea-cups  especially  were  well-formed  and 
decorated.  The  handles  were  delicately  formed  and  well 
attached.  Some  dark  blue  enamels  with  gilding,  and  a  set 
in  black  enamel  with  raised  designs  in  white  of  flowers  and 
grasses,  repaid  close  examination.  White  iron-stone  china, 
parian,  biscuit  and  majolica,  are  made  at  the  same  estab- 
lishment. 

These  works  were  founded  in  the  year  1726,  and  they 
now  employ  over  500  persons  and  a  steam-engine  of  70 
horse-power.  The  production  in  the  year  1872  was  valued 
at  830,000  rix  dollars.  The  greater  portion  of  the  product 
is  sold  in  the  country ;  but  some  is  exported  to  Norway, 
Denmark,  Finland  and  Russia,  and  small  quantities  to  France 
and  England.  There  is  in  connection  with  the  establish- 
ment a  hospital  for  the  sick  and  infirm,  a  school  for  the  chil- 
dren, a  Sabbath  school  and  a  library. 

GusTAFBERG  WoRKS,  Stockholm.  (W.  Odelberg.)  This 
establishment  also  made  a  fine  display  of  porcelain,  faience, 
parian  and  majolica  ware.  The  dinner-services  were  excel- 
lent in  form,  color  and  decoration.  Sets  of  cups  and  saucers, 
of  good  pattern  and  well  fired,  glazed  in  single  colors  all 
over,  except  the  interiors,  and  the  central  parts  of  the 
saucers   were   noted    as   worthy   of  mention.      The    colors, 


PORCELAIN    AND   FAIENCE.  267 

such  as  red,  purple,  blue  and  lavender,  were  very  even 
and  bright,  and  produced  a  iSne  effect. 

Some  very  good  specimens  of  majolica  were  shown  by 
this  and  by  the  Eorstrand  establishment,  characterized,  how- 
ever, by  the  apparent  abundance  of  oxide  of  copper,  for  a 
vivid  green  was  the  predominating  color  of  the  glaze. 

The  Gustafberg  works  were  established  in  the  year  1826, 
and  now  employ  about  400  persons  and  4  steam-engines, 
with  a  total  of  91  horse-power.  Raw  materials  to  the  fol- 
lowing amounts  were  used  in  the  year  1871  : — 

40,500  cubic  feet  of  clay,  from  England  ; 

20,000  cubic  feet  of  "fire-stone,"  from  France  ; 
800,000  lbs.  of  feldspar,  from  the  neighborhood; 

34,000  lbs.  of  bones,  from  Sweden; 

24,000  lbs.  oxide  of  lead  ; 

22,000  lbs.  of  borax,  from  France  and  England  ; 
160,000  cubic  feet  of  stove  coal; 
700  cubic  feet  of  wood. 

The  value  of  the  products  reaches  the  sum  of  702,000  rix 
dollars. 


PORTUGAL. 

Several  exhibitions  in  the  Portuguese  section  o^ive  evi- 
deuce  of  the  growth  of  ceramic  industry  in  that  country. 
The  manufacture  of  porcelain  is  carried  on  at  Vista  Alegre, 
Aveiro,  and  at  Sacavem,  Lisbon.  It  has  long  been  estab- 
lished at  the  former  place,  and  the  products  are^  held  in 
high  estimation.  Modern  improvements  have  been  intro- 
duced, and  a  variety  of  artistic  and  ornamental  objects, 
such  as  vases,  statuettes,  etc.,  are  manufactured.  Pinto 
and  Tilho  exhibited  toilet  and  tea-sets,  apparently  modelled 
after  British  patterns,  but  without  special  merit. 

There  was  considerable  ordinary  pottery  and  majolica, 
rather  crude  in  form  and  coloring,  but  not  uninterest- 
ing; green  and  brown  coloring  predominated.  Some  red, 
unglazed  jugs,  from  the  manutiictory  of  G.  Mafra,  deserve 


268  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

mention  for  the  peculiarity  of  their  form.  They  are  evi- 
dently a  modified  form  of  alcarazza,  intended  to  hold  and 
cool  drinking  water,  by  suspending  them  in  a  cool 
and  airy  place.  The  top  is  closed  over,  the  only 
opening  being  the  spout,  through  which  the  vessel 
is  filled  by  immersion.  A  curved  handle  at  the 
top  is  convenient  for  carrying,  and  one  at  the  side 
for  tipping  it. 

In  the  year  1870,  the  importations  of  glass  and  ceramic 
products  were  valued  at  150,522,000  reis,  and  the  exporta- 
tions  at  36,911,000  reis.  Of  faience,  in  the  same  year, 
132,688  kilogrammes,  valued  at  24,077,000  reis,  were 
imjDorted  from  England. 


DENMARK. 

KoYAL  Porcelain  Manufactory,  Copenhagen,  exhibited 
in  the  Rotunda  and  in  the  Danish  court  decorated  porcelain 
of  all  kinds,  especially  works  in  biscuit,  consisting  of  medal- 
lions, busts  and  bas-reliefs,  after  Thorwaldsen,  Bissen,  and 
others.  Thorwaldsen's  "Night  and  Morning,"  and  the  medal- 
lion portraits,  deserve  special  mention  for  their  excellence 
in  form  and  composition  of  the  paste,  and  their  pure  white- 
ness. The  works  also  make  a  specialty  of  imitations  of  the 
old  Saxon  and  Danish  ware. 

The  list  of  premiums  received  at  former  great  exhibitions 
is  a  long  one,  and  at  this  exhibition  the  works  fully  sustain 
their  reputation. 

The  fine  terra-cotta  ware  of  this  section,  consists  of  choice 
vases,  urns,  tazzas,  etc.,  in  imitation  of  the  old  Etruscan 
and  Greek  forms.  These  are  black  in  color  with  figures 
in  red,  and  the  reverse.  Others  -are  decorated  with  sprigs 
of  ferns  and  flowers  on  the  plain  black  surface.  They  are 
exquisite  in  execution  and  color,  and  were  much  admired. 
All  this  ware  is  remarkably  perfect  in  form,  and  is  burned 
without  distortion.     The  prices  are  moderate. 


PORCELAIN  AND  FAIENCE.  269 


ITALY. 

Majolica. 

Althongli  specimens  of  majolica  ware,  as  usually  desig- 
nated, were  to  be  found  from  all  the  principal  countries,  it  is 
chiefly  to  the  Italian  and  Spanish  sections  that  we  should  look 
for  the  typical  specimens. 

The  name  majolica  is  believed  to  be  derived  from  Majorca, 
the  Spanish  island  from  which  it  is  supposed  the  first  speci- 
mens were  taken  or  exported  to  Italy.  The  island,  accord- 
ing to  Fabio  Ferrari,  was  called  Maiolica  by  ancient  Tuscan 
writers,  and  Dante  writes,  "  Tra  I'isola  di  Cipri  e  Maiolica." 
Pottery  was  made  there  by  the  Moors  from  an  earl}^  period 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  it  became  famous.  There  is  a  state- 
ment, considered  mythical  by  some,  that,  at  the  conquest 
of  the  Balearic  islands  by  the  Pisan  fleets,  in  1115,  part  of  the 
spoil  consisted  of  the  famous  Majorca  ware,  and  that  it  was 

used  for  the   decoration  of   the    towers    and  facades  of  the 

■> 

Pisan  churches.  The  term  majolica,  or  maiolica,  appears 
originally  to  have  been  restricted  to  the  lustred  wares, — 
those  in  which  there  was  a  nacreous  chromatic  eflect,  due  to 
the  partial  reduction  to  the  metallic  state  of  the  oxides  form- 
ing part  of  the  composition  of  the  glaze.  This  lustre,  though 
easily  produced  when  the  cause  is  known,  was  doubtless  one 
of  the  great  secrets  of  the  art  for  a  time,  though  doubtless 
produced,  in  the  first  instance,  unintentionally  by  the  imper- 
fect combustion  of  the  fuel  in  the  kilns  giving  a  smoky  atmos- 
phere containing  free  carbon,  or  carbonic  oxide  gas.  A 
coarser  ware,  of  potter's  earth,  covered  with  a  white  slip, 
upon  which  the  designs  were  painted,  and  glazed  with  lead, 
was  known  as  mezza-maioliQa.  The  true  majolica  was  prob- 
ably tin-glazed,  though  it  does  not  appear  by  any  means  cer- 
tain that  this  constituted  the  distinction.  Towards  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  terms  seem  to  have  been  applied 
to  all  varieties  of  the  glazed  earthenware  of  Italy.  Mr.  Fort- 
num,  with  M.  Jacquemart,  M.  Darcel,  Mr-  J.  C.  Eobinson, 
and  others,  think  that  the  word  majolica,  or  maiolica,  should 
be  again  restricted  to  the  lustred  wares,  although  in  Italy, 
and  elsewhere,  it  is  commonly  used  to  designate  all  varieties 


270  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

of  earthenware,  excepting  "  terraglia,"  in  distinction  from 
porcelain.* 

It  has  also  been  maintained,  that  although  Majorcan  wares 
were  known  in  Italy,  the  art  may  have  been  derived  from 
Persian  potters  reaching  the  eastern  ports  of  that  country. 
This  view  is  supported  by  the  fact,  that  the  style  of  decora- 
tion of  the  early  Italian  wares  is  more  Persian  than  Mo- 
resque, f  Again,  it  is  suggested  that  after  the  conquest  of 
Majorca  and  of  the  province  of  Valencia,  at  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  Moorish  potters  emigrated  to  Italy  and 
introduced  their  practice  of  the  art  with  the  tin  glaze  |  and 
metallic  lustre. 

In  Eno;land  and  in  the  United  States  it  is  the  habit  to  desis;- 
nate  as  "  majolica  "  any  pottery  covered  with  a  colored  glaze. 
The  term  should  be  restricted  to  ware  coated  with  opaque 
enamels.  The  ornamental  ware,  especially  when  modelled 
after  natural  objects,  and  coated  with  transparent  glazes  of 
various  colors,  is  more  correctly  described  as  Palissy  ware. 

CapOtDi-Monti  Ware. 
GiNOEi,  The  Marquis  of:  porcelain  manufactory ,  Doccia, 
near  Florence. — This  establishment,  founded  in  the  year 
1735,  now  produces  many  varieties  of  artistic  and  domestic 
porcelain  and  decorative  objects,  in  majolica  and  faience.  It 
is  celebrated  especially  for  its  reproductions  of  the  famous 
Capo-di-Monti  ware,  the  pieces  being  made  from  the  old 
moulds,  and  so  Avell  colored  as  scarcely  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  old  examples  preserved  in  collections.  The  pecu- 
liarity of  this  ware,  as  is  generally  known  to  connoisseurs, 
consists  in  the  decoration  of  the  surface  by  groups  of  male 
and  female  figures  in  relief,  covering  the  surface  on  cups  and 
saucers,  vases,  plaques,  boxes,  jugs,  etc.  Most  of  the  fig- 
ures are  in  a  nude  or  semi-nude  condition,  and  are  tinted 
with  flesh  color,  and  are  surrounded  by  flowers  or  wreaths, 
of  which  pink  or  rose  color  is  the  prevailing  color.     Many  of 


*  Fortnnm's  Maiolica  Hispano  Morcsco,  Persian,  Damascus,  and  Rhodian  Wares, 
ete.,  page  xxxvii.  of  Introduction. 

t  Jacqucmart,  cited  by  Fortnum,  ibid.,  p.  xxxix. 

X  With  regard  to  the  origin  of  tlie  tin  glaze,  usually  attributed  to  Luca  della 
Ptobbia,  see  infra,  Part  "  Ceramic  Clays  and  Materials." 


POECELAIN  AND  FAIENCE.  271 

the  specimens  are  no  doubt  as  good,  or  better,  than  the  old. 
They  attracted  much  attention  and  command  a  high  price. 
As  examples  of  skill  in  sculpture  or  modelling,  they  are  cer- 
tainly not  remarkable.  They  do  not  bear  comparison  with 
the  exquisite  relief  figures  of  Wedgwood's  establishment. 
They  lack  sharpness  and  distinctness  of  outline,  and  have  a 
half-fired  look,  partially  blended  as  they  are  with  the  back- 
ground, evidently  forming  a  part  of  the  body  of  the  ware,  all 
being  moulded  in  one  piece  and  of  the  same  material.  Con- 
siderable attention  has  also  been  given  at  this  establishment  to 
the  imitation  of  the  celebrated  productions  of  Urbino,  Castel 
Durante,  and  of  Gubbio. 

The  productions  have  been  conspicuous  at  most  of  the 
great  exhibitions,  and  have  received  many  medals,  notably  at 
Paris  in  1855,  London  in  1862,  Paris  in  1867.  The  proprie- 
tor was  also  honored  in  1867  by  appointment  to  membership 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor  of  France. 

.     ToRQUATO  Castellani,  Roiiie.     This  exhibitor  appears  to 

devote    his    energies    to    the   reproduction    of 

choice    examples   of  old   Italian   majolica  and 

decorated   pottery,    chiefly   bottles    and   urns. 

One  of  these,   with  massive  twisted  handles, 

is   represented   in    outline.     It  was    about   12 

inches  by  15  inches  high,  and  was  purchased 

by  the  St.  Petersburg  Museum  for  £7  15s. 

Monaco..  In  the  small  building  outside  the  Industry  Pal- 
ace, set  apart  for  the  products  of  this  State,  there  were 
many  specimens  of  decorated  faience,  in  the  old  Dresden 
style.  They  were  chiefly  vases  and  baskets  covered  with 
colored  flowers  in  relief. 

Incised  or  Sgraffiato  Ware.  This  name  is  applied  .to 
a  species  of  decoration  practised  in  Italy  by  the  potters  of 
the  Renaissance  period,  or  towards  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  It  is  also  known  as  Perugia  ware,  hav- 
ing originated  in  the  province  of  Perugia.  The  design  is 
scratched  out  of  a  thin  layer  of  light  colored  clay  over  a 
darker  body  beneath.     The  object  is  then  glazed,  and  colors 


272  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

are    sometimes    added.     The    art   has   been    revived   by  the 
Messrs.  Miiiton  &  Maw. 

It  suggests,   also,  the  style  of  decoration  so  effective  ou 
the  stoneware  of  the  Doulton's,  Lambeth,  British  section. 


INDIA. 

The  list  of  the  ceramic  contributions  from  India  fills  sev- 
eral pages  of  the  Descriptive  Catalogue,  but  consists  chiefly 
of  earthenware  and  glazed  tiles. 

Dr.  Leitner,  Lahore,  sends  a  tea-cup  of  Lhassa  porcelain, 
and  specimens  of  the  Lahore  porcelain,  the  last  attempt  at 
the  manufacture,  which  will  soon  die  out  unless  encouraged. 
Peerano,  of  Tatta  Sind,  forwarded  ninety-five  variously 
colored  specimens  of  domestic  pottery,  including  floor- tiles 
and  specimens  of  the  materials  and  implements  used  in  the 
manufacture  and  glazing  of  pottery.  Similar  collections 
were  sent  by  other  persons  from  various  parts  of  India. 

For  a  notice  of  the  tiles,  etc.,  see  Tiles. 


JAPAN. 

Japan  entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the  great  Exhibition, 
and  made  the  most  S3'stematic  and  (comprehensive  display  of 
the  varied  industries  of  the  country  yet  seen  by  Europeans. 
The  ceramic  products  were  a  salient  feature,  and  illustrated 
the  manufacture  of  porcelain  faience  and  terra-cotta  from 
many  of  the  provinces.  When  we  reflect  that  this  country, 
with  China,  is  the  birthplace  of  the  art  of  porcelain,  and 
consider  the  numerous  separate  establishments  for  its  pro- 
duction, its  general  use  among  the  people  and  the  extent 
of  the  manufacture,  not  only  for  native  use  but  to  please 
tlje  taste  and  meet  the  requirements  of  foreigners,  we  shrink 
from  attempting  a  critical  review  of  the  industry,  or  even  a 
description  of  the  representative  examples  accumulated  at 
Vienna. 

The  fertility  of  the  people  in  design  and  modifications  of 
the  potter's  art  surprises  every  one,  and  none  more  than 
those  who  have  in  vain  striven  to  exhaust  the  novelties  of 


PORCELAIN    AND    FAIENCE.  273 

the  manufacture  in  materials,  form  and  ornamentation. 
There  is  an  unceasing  variety,  and,  apparently,  no  end  of 
surprises  in  store  for  amateurs  and  collectors.  But  it  is  not 
in  porcelain  alone  that  the  Japanese  potters  attain  excel- 
lence and  variety.  They  produce  faience  and  ware  resem- 
bling the  finer  sorts  of  terra-cotta,  plain  and  enamelled.  The 
exquisitely  decorated  faience  of  Satsuma  was  a  surprise  to 
connoisseurs  at  Paris,  in  1867.  It  was  admired  in  London, 
at  the  Exhibition  in  1871,  and  appeared  in  still  greater 
variety  of  forms  and  decoration  at  Vienna.  The  potters 
seem  also  to  be  copying  European  "masters,"  for  they  are 
making  this  ware  into  forms  to  suit  foreigners.  Certain  it 
is  that,  as  the  demand  for  any  one  of  these  varieties  of 
ware  increases  and  large  orders  have  to  be  filled,  the  care 
and  detailed  labor  diminishes,  a^nd  we  lose  that  pains- 
taking and  exquisite  finish  which  is  freely  bestowed  on  a 
few  select  objects.  Thus  it  is  that  older  specimens  of  ware 
are  generally  the  most  desirable.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
metal  work  and  the  ivory  carvings.  Quality  must  be  sacri- 
ficed to  quantity. 

The  Japanese  Commission,  however,  who  had  the  respon- 
sibility of  securing  a  proper  representation,  made  judicious 
selections  and  placed  some  of  the  choicest,  as  well  as  the 
more  ordinary  objects,  before  the  jury. 

The  list  includes  vases,  white  and  blue,  in  red  color,  and 
in  the  deservedly  admired  celadon  green ;  perforated  work, 
enamelling  in  relief,  egg-shell  ware,  monochromatic  and 
polychromatic  decoration,  decoration  with  flowers  and  fig- 
ures, and  with  laquer  and  gold.  There  were  not  only 
vases,  but  plates,  bowls,  sackie-bottles,  sackie-cups  and 
tea-pots  in  great  variety ;  tiles,  large  decorated  slabs,  a 
fire-place  and  mantel,  and  dinner,  breakfast  and  tea  serv- 
ices, after  European  patterns. 

The  Japanese  porcelain,  it  is  well  known,  is  the  hard,  or 
j^ate  dur  variety.  It  is,  in  general,  highly  vitreous,  com- 
pact and  hard,  but  is  tough  and  resists  heat  well. 

Amongst  the  many  porcelain-making  establishments  in 
Japan,  those  of  Sai-kio,  Inari,  Kutani,  Owari*  and  Awadji, 

*  Owari  is  in  the  Second  District,  Tokaido,  and  Awadji  in  the  Seventh  District, 
Nankaido. 

35 


274  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

are  held  in  the  highest  esteem.  Most  of  the  potteries  are 
small.  The  production  is  not  centered  in  extensive  works, 
and  this  accounts  for  the  diversity  of  patterns,  the  differ- 
ences of  paste,  of  glazing,  and  of  colors. 

A  pair  of  large  vases,  of  modern  make,  attracted  attention. 
They  are  about  five  feet  high  and  twenty  iuches  in  diameter 
(l™-623  and  0'^*495).  These  are  decorated  around  the  tops 
with  groups  of  peonies,  others  with  dragons  modelled  in 
low  relief  between  birds  and  flowers,  on  the  flat  in  blue, 
under  the  glaze.  A  flower-vase  also  commands  mention. 
Size  0°''484  in  diameter  at  the  top.  Blue  enamel,  orna- 
mented with  figures  of  peacocks  and  peonies.  One  of  the 
large  plates  represents  the  four  seasons  by  four  groups  of 
flowers.  The  outside  is  ornamented  with  butterflies  and 
arabesques.     Diameter,  0°J'984. 

MiAqo  Faience. 
A  cheap  buff-colored  earthenware,  resembling  the  Satsuma, 
is  made  at  Miaco.  It  was  exhibited  at  Vienna,  and  is  now 
abundant  in  the  shops.  The  forms  are  various  and  quaint, 
particularly  where  the  taste  of  the  Japanese  is  left  free  to  as- 
sert itself.  Foreign  samples  of  tea-cups,  saucers,  and  plates 
have  been  supplied  to  them,  and  much  of  the  ware  we  receive 
is  made  after  these  patterns.  The  decoration  is  pleasing, 
consisting  generally  of  flowers,  grasses,  etc.,  mingled  with 
gilding  ;  but  it  is  generally  rude,  and  not  carefully  executed, 
in  comparison  with  the  best  Satsuma.  The  gilding,  instead 
of  being  in  compact,  distinct  points,  is  in  smooth,  diffused 
patches.  Some  of  the  ware  is  formed  in  imitation  of  sections 
of  bamboo,  with  great  fidelity  in  the  details.  Insects,  drawn 
and  colored  with  accuracy,  are  sometimes  substituted  for 
flowers  in  the  decoration.  A  very  interesting  collection  of 
this  ware  has  been  imported  by  Mr.  Vantine,  in  New  York. 


CHINA. 

The  representation  from  this  country,  as  from  Japan,  is 
very  large,  and  includes  almost  every  variety  of  hard  porce- 
lain, in  the  purely  Chinese  styles,  and  much  that  has  been 


PORCELAIN    AND    FAIENCE.  275 

made  in  imitation  of  European  forms,  particularly  dinner  and 
tea  sets,  colfee-cups,  etc.  The  vases  are  very  numerous, 
and  many  of  them  of  great  size  and  elaborate  decoration. 
Crackled  ware  and  specimens  of  pdfe-sur-pdte  are  not  want- 
ing, and  the  whole  is  made  the  more  interesting  by  a  collec- 
tion of  old  porcelain,  bronzes  and  cloissonee  enamels,  sent  by 
Archdeacon  Gray. 

Amonsfst  the  vases  we  find  several  of  the  beautiful  red 
color,  so  much  prized  in  China,  particularly  if  old,  as  indeed 
is  the  case  with  all  old  specimens,  whether  of  china,  bronze 
or  enamel.  Very  old  specimens  command  enormous  prices, 
and  are  frequently  counterfeited.  Among  other  objects  to  be 
noted  are  garden-seats,  in  celadon,  with  raised  ornaments  in 
white, — jjdte-sur-pdte, — admirably  executed. 

One  great  seat  of  the  porcelain  manufacture  in  China  is  on 
the  Poyana  Lake,  the  outlet  for  the  goods  being  via  the  Yan- 
tse-Kiang. 

Most  of  the  ware  exported  to  Europe  and  America,  chiefly 
the  highly  decorated  dinner  and  tea  services,  is  from  Hong- 
Kong. 

According  to  Julien,  the  manufacture  of  porcelain  in  China 
was  commenced  in  the  country  of  Sinping,  Honau,  under  the 
Han  dynasty,  and,  therefore,  some  time  between  b.  c.  185 
and  A.  D.  87-.  In  the  year  60,  porcelain  was  in  common  use. 
Marco  Polo  saw  the  process  of  manufacture  in  the  thirteenth 
century.* 

Specimens  of  Chinese  porcelain  had  reached  Europe  before 
the  Portuguese  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  1497,  after 
which  it  became  more  abundant,  through  the  importations  by 
the  Portuguese  and  the  Dutch,  who  traded  in  it  largely. 

Cloissonee  Enamels. 
The  Chinese  section,  as  indeed  the  English,  French,  and 
Japanese  sections  of  the  Exhibition,  was  very  rich  in  displays 
of  this  peculiar  ware,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  connecting 
link  between  porcelain  and  bronze.  It  is  an  ancient  art  in 
ChiuiTand  Japan,  but  is  now  receiving  increased  attention 
there,  owing  to  the  foreign  demand,  and  pieces  of  great  size 

*  Catalogue  Museum  Practical  Geology,  1871. 


276  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

and  beauty  are  produced.  In  this  art  the  design  is  first  marked 
out  upon  the  metallic  or  porcelain  surfoce  by  thin  strips  of 
brass,  bent  and  folded,  so  as  to  mark  all  the  details  of  an  intri- 
cate pattern.  These  are  fastened  to  the  surface  on  edge  by 
soldering,  and  the  cavities  or  doissons  thus  formed  are  filled  in 
with  fusible  enamels  of  difierent  colors.  The  piece  is  then 
baked,  the  enamels  fuse  into  the  cells,  and,  after  cooling,  the 
whole  surface  is  ground  off"  smooth,  bringing  the  enamels  and 
the  thin  brass  partings  to  a  flush  finish.  Dark  blues  and 
greens,  with  a  sprinkling  of  red  and  white,  are  the  usual 
colors. 

Imitations  are  now  made  extensively  in  France  and  in  Eng- 
land.    Some  of  these  productions  are  remarkable  for  their 
beauty  and  perfection  of  finish.     Special  mention  should  be  , 
made  of  specimens  shown  by  Barbedienne  and  by  Elkington. 

There  is  one  variety  of  cloissonee  enamel  on  porcelain 
which  is  rare,  only  a  few  specimens  having  been  seen  in  the 
United  States.  Porcelain  body  is  substituted  for  metal,  and 
the  brass  partitions  seem  to  be  inserted  directly  in  the  porce- 
lain body.  A  cup  in  the  writer's  collection  is  so  enamelled 
over  the  whole  exterior,  while  the  interior  is  ordinary  white, 
translucent  porcelain. 

Some  of  the  choicest  specimens  of  Chinese  cloissonee  were 
obtained  at  the  sacking  of  the  summer  palace  of  the  emperor, 
and,  together  with  wonderfully  wrought  specimens  of  jade 
and  other  decorative  objects,  were  distributed  from  thence 
over  Europe. 


III.     Floor,    "Wall,    and     Orxamei^- 
TAL   Tiles. 

The  Exhibition  contained  a  rich  assemblage  of  decorative 
tiles  of  several  countries,  notably  from  Great  Britain,  where 
the  art  has  attained  its  greatest  perfection.  Little,  in  fact, 
remains  to  be  desired  in  respect  of  excellence  of  materials, 
perfection  of  form,  and  beauty  of  design.  The  highest  gkill 
of  the  potter  and  the  best  efforts  of  decorative  artists  are 
called  into  requisition  in  this  manufacture,  and  the  resources 
of  the  chemist's  art,  applied  to  enamels,  are  taxed  to  their 


WALL    AND    FLOOR    TILES.  277 

utmost  in  the  production  of  the  most  brilliant  colors. 
Graphic  and  chromatic  decorations  in  ceramics  tind  in  this 
field  their  legitimate  basis  of  application  and  their  greatest 
possible  expansion  in  the  future.  The  great  object  of  the 
tile  is  decoration ;  and  the  flat  surface  in  the  wall  or  on  the 
floor  is  more  appropriately  the  basis  of  ornament  than  a  plate 
or  dish  on  which,  when  in  use,  the  decoration  is  obscured. 
The  antiquity  of  the  art  of  decorating  with  tiles  is  well 
known,  and  the  perfection  which  it  attained  in  several  coun- 
tries is  shown  by  the  specimens  which  have  been  handed 
doAvn  to  us  unchanged, — not  even  dimmed  by  age.  The 
tiles  of  India,  Persia,  Arabia,  and  Spain,  the  mosaics  of  the 
Romans,  and  the  walls  of  the  Alhambra,  are  familiar  exam- 
ples. Glazed  decorated  tiles  were  used  in  Egypt,  and  among 
the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians.  They  were  introduced  in 
Spain  by  the  Saracens  and  Moors.  In  China  they  were  em- 
ployed in  remote  periods  for  both  exterior  and  interior  deco- 
ration. The  Exhibition  contained  specimens  of  antique  tiles 
from  India  and  from  the  mosques  of  Samarcand,  of  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries ;  and  thus  a  retrospective 
glance  of  the  art  and  its  application  in  this  place  is  fully 
justified. 

The  Indian  tiles  were  brought  by  Dr.  Leitner  from 
Lahore,  where  they  were  taken  from  old  monuments  ;  but 
the  colors  are  as  vivid  as  they  ever  were.  The  art,  which 
was  connected  with  the  Mogul  architecture,  is  now  almost 
dead,  as  it  is  no  longer  sustained. 

Manufacture  of  Tiles  in  Great  Britain. 

The  manufacture  in  Great  Britain  dates  from  mediasval 
times,  and  is  supposed  to  have  originated  in  the  Roman 
mosaics, — the  transition  from  tesserse  to  the  tiles,  with  im- 
pressed designs,  being  gradual, — the  difierence  in  the  first 
place  being  in  the  size  of  the  pieces  only.  Evidences  of  the 
gradual  modification  of  the  size  have  been  found,  and  in 
Spain,  small  tiles,  intermediate  between  British  tiles  and  tes- 
seree,  arc  now  in  use.  Recent  excavations  at  Chichester 
have  brought  to  light  mosaic  pavements  and  Roman  tiles. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  convenience  and  greater 
rapidity  of  laying  larger  tiles  led  to  their  adoption,  and  the 


278  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA.    • 

requirements  of  the  details  of  design  led  to  the  quicker  and 
cheaper  method  of  stamping  the  figures  upon  the  clay.  For 
a  long  period  after  the  use  of  the  red  or  Samian  ware,  intro- 
duced by  the  Romans,  ceased,  tiles  appear  to  have  been  the 
only  branch  of  the  decorative  fictile  art  in  Britain.  They 
were  applied  chiefly  in  ecclesiastical  decoration,  about  the 
altars  and  choirs,  and  for  memorial  purposes.  The  excel- 
lence of  this  medireval  tile-work  is  regarded  as  having  stimu- 
lated and  led  the  way  to  improvement  in  decoration  of  house- 
hold pottery.  Some  of  the  earliest  specimens  of  the  art,  pre- 
served in  the  British  Musem,  are  from  ruined  churches  in 
Norfolk.  The  neighborhood  of  Great  Malvern  appears  to 
have  been  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  production  in  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  and  few  churches  in 
Great  Britain  can  show  a  greater  variety  of  ancient  tiling 
than  the  Priory  Church  of  Great  Malvern,  the  interior  of 
which  abounded  with  encaustic  tiles  in  the  floors  and  forming 
panels  in  the  walls. 

The  manufacture  in  Britain  has  been  assigned  to  two 
periods.  The  most  ancient  tiles  are  believed  to  have  been 
fabricated  between  the  years  1290  and  1380,  and  those  of  the 
second  period  during  the  prevalence  of  the  perpendicular 
style  in  building.  Numerous  kilns  have  been  unearthed  at 
Malvern  Hills,  and  it  is  believed  that  Tewkesljury  Abbey  and 
Worcester  and  Gloucester  Cathedrals  were  supplied  with  tiles 
from  these  kilns.  The  manufacture  is  supposed  to  have  been 
continued  in  Worcester  County  down  to  about  the  year  1640, 
and  to  have  been  repressed,  if  not  stopped,  at  that  time 
through  the  influence  of  Puritanism.  In  that  year  visitors 
were  appointed  to  visit  the  ecclesiastical  structures  of  the 
kingdom  and  destroy  all  ornaments  of  a  "  superstitious 
nature."  *  The  designs  upon  the  tiles  at  that  time  were 
largely  formed  of  sacred  symbols  and  inscriptions,  of  memo- 
rial letters  and  monograms,  and  of  heraldic  devices,  chiefly 
in  connection  with  tombs.  These  medieval  tiles  have  been 
classed  according  to  their  decorations,  as  follows  *  : — 

1.  "  Sacred  symbols ;  inscriptions,  consisting  either  of 
verses  of  the  Scripture  or  pious  phrases. 

*  Antiquarian  and  Architectural  Year  Book,  1844,  p.  128. 


f^m 


WALL   AND   FLOOR   TILES.  279 

2.  "Armorial  bearings  of  the  sovereign  or  individuals  con- 
nected with  the  monastery  by  benefactions  or  otherwise ; 
personal  devices  or  mottoes. 

3.  "  Ornaments  conformable  to  the  style  of  architecture  or 
character  of  decoration  prevalent  at  the  period,  but  devoid  of 
any  special  import." 

Some  of  the  emblematic  figures,  of  which  examples  charac- 
teristic of  these  old  ecclesiastical  tiles  are  here  given, 
consist  of  lions,  dragons,  and  adders,  and  have  been 
supposed  to  have  reference  to  the  text,  "  Thou  slialt 
go  upon  the  lion  and  the  adder :  the  young  lion  and 
the  dragon  shalt  thou  tread  under  thy  feet." 

The  tiles  of  the  earlier  manufacture  generally  measure  five 
inches  square,  and  the  later,  six  inches.  Some  have  been 
found  nine  inches  square  and  two  and  a  quarter  inches  thick. 
A  specimen  in  the  writer's  collection,  probably  from  the 
Malvern  kilns,  is  a  little  over  five  inches  square  and  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  thick. 

The  material  is  ordinary  coarse  red  clay,  such  as  is  used 
for  making  brick,  and  the  design  appears  to  be  formed  by  a 
lighter  colored  clay  filling  incisions  or  impressions  in  the  sur- 
face, and  subsequently  glazed.  The  design  is  supposed  to 
have  been  impressed  by  a  stamp  while  the  clay  was  still 
moist,  and  the  depression  so  formed  was  filled  by  the  lighter 
clay  in  the  condition  of  thin  paste,  for  the  cavities  are  fre- 
quently seen  to  be  but  partially  filled. 

Prosser's  Method. 
But  tiles  are  no  longer  made  in  Great  Britain  in  this 
manner.  Prosser's  method,  patented  some  thirty  or  forty 
years  ago,  and  perfected  by  Mr.  Minton,  marks  a  new  era 
in  tile  manufacture,  and  has  contributed  greatly  to  the 
advance  of  this  branch  of  artistic  decoration.  It  consists 
chiefly  in  the  use  of  powdered  clay,  instead  of  the  wet, 
plastic  mass.  The  paste  being  duly  compounded  of  the 
proper  clays  and  silex,  and  strained  tlirough  cloth,  is  dried 
and  then  ground  to  powder.  This  powder,  when  slightly 
damp,  is  pressed  in  steel  moulds  by  a  powerful  screw. 
The  size  and  form  of  the   moulds  determine  the  size  and 


280  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

shape  of  the  tile.  Tiles  so  formed  are  more  perfect  in 
shape,  are  denser,  stronger  and  more  uniform  in  wear,  than 
those  made  from  clay  in  its  plastic  state.  There  is  less 
shrinkage  in  firing,  and  little  or  no  distortion.  Most  of  the 
cheap  tiles  upon  the  Continent  are  made  by  the  old  methods, 
and  are  by  no  means  so  exact  in  their  forms,  and  sharp  in 
their  edges  and  angles,  as  those  made  from  the  damp  pow- 
der under  pressure,  in  accurately  formed  moulds. 

The  exactness  and  uniformity  of  size  obtained  by  the  new 
method  greatly  stimulated  the  industry,  and  it  has  been 
steadily  increasing  in  importance  to  the  present  time.  Many 
firms  are  now  engaged  in  the  manufacture  in  Great  Britain, 
particularly  at  Stoke-on-Trent,  and  Burslem  in  Stafford- 
shire. The  establishment  of  Messrs.  Miuton,  Hollins  & 
Co.,  now  carried  on  by  Mr.  Hollins,  is  one  of  the  oldest, 
and  is  occupied  exclusively  in  the  production  of  all  varie- 
ties of  tiles. 

The  rapidly  increasing  demand  for  tiles  of  all  descrip- 
tions of  late  years  is  remarkable,  not  only  in  England  but 
throughout  Europe.  They  are  used  in  almost  all  modern 
buildiugs  of  any  pretension.  They  make  the  most  service- 
able and  ornamental  floors  for  public  buildings.  In  the 
South  Kensington  Museum  alone  there  are  some  40,000 
square  feet  of  pavement  laid.  They  are  used  in  railway 
stations,  on  shipboard,  and  for  decorating  walls  and  pave- 
ments of  churches.  For  this  latter  purpose,  great  numbers 
are  required  in  the  work  of  restoration  of  old  cathedrals. 
At  Worcester,  the  cathedral  which  has  lately  been  restored, 
chiefly  through  the  munificence  of  the  Earls  Dudley  and 
Ward,  who  gave  equal  to  $350,000  in  gold  for  the  pur- 
pose, has  a  tiled  chancel  of  most  elaborate  design,  a  part 
of  which  is  over  four  hundred  years  old.  The  dilapidated 
portions  have  been  renewed  with  tiles  made  in  exact  imi- 
tation of  the  ancient  tiles,  and  at  a  cost  of  not  less  than 
$10,000,  under  the  direction  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  the  arch- 
itect. 

One  firm  alone  (Minton,  Hollins  &  Co.)  cite  the  follow- 
ing among  the  principal  places  for  which  they  have  furn- 
ished the  tile  pavements  : — 


WALL   AND   FLOOR   TILES.  281 

"The  "Rojsil  Palaces  of  Windsor,  Osborne  and  Marlborough 
House ;  the  Palace  and  State  Yachts  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey ; 
the  Eoyal  Residence  of  Prince  Dhuleep  Sing ;  the  New  Houses 
of  Parliament,  Westminster ;  the  New  Foreign  Offices ;  the  New 
Government  Buildings  in  India ;  the  South  Kensington  Museum ; 
the  New  Albert  Hall ;  the  Senior  and  Junior  Carlton  Clubs ;  the 
Cathedrals  of  Ely,  Lincoln,  Litchfield,  Gloucester,  Wells,  Glas- 
gow, Armagh  and  Sydney  (New  South  Wales)  ;  the  New  Capitol 
at  Washington  (U.  S.  of  America)  ;  and  many  of  the  principal 
Ducal  Mansions,  Government  Buildings,  Churches  and  Public 
Institutions  in  Great  Britain,"  etc.,  etc. 

Varieties  of  Tiles. 
The   varieties    of    tiles    as    now   made    may   be    classed 
accordiug   to    their    manufacture,    irrespective    of    form    or 
use,  as  follows  : — 

1.  Plain  tiles,  unglazed,  glazed  or  enamelled,  in  colors. 

2.  Encaustic  tiles,  unglazed  or  glazed. 

3.  Majolica  tiles. 

4.  Enamelled,  decorated  or  painted  tiles. 

The  plain  tiles  are  usually  made  from  natural  clay  mix- 
tures, selected  with  reference  to  their  colors  when  burned; 
or  coloring  substances  may  be  added.  The  color  pervades 
the  whole  tile  like  a  brick,  not  being,  as  in  the  case  of  an 
enamel,  merely  superficial.  The  addition  of  a  transparent 
glaze  makes  the  color  more  brilliant,  and  gives  a  smoother 
surface.  The  general  colors  of  both  the  plain  tiles  are 
black  and  white,  red,  chocolate,  salmon,  drab  and  buff. 
But  almost  any  desired  color  can  be  given  to  plain  tiles, 
by  enamelling  them  upon  the  surface  with  opaque  enamels. 
For  this  process  the  plain  white,  buff  or  red  tiles  are 
taken.  Bright  reds,  crimson,  purples,  blues,  greens  and 
browns  may  thus  be  obtained.  These  enamelled  tiles,  like 
the  glazed,  have  a  smooth  glassy  surface,  and  are  more 
appropriately  used  upon  walls  than  in  pavements,  where' 
the  attrition  would  soon  destroy  the  gloss  of  the  enamel 
and  produce  scratches.  The  smooth  surface  is  also  rather 
slippery  and  dangerous  to  walk  upon.     For  these  reasons 

36 


282  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA*. 

the   plain    unglazed    tiles    are    to    be   preferred   for    pave- 
ments. 

Besides  the  use  of  the  glazed  and  enamelled  tiles  in 
mural  decoration  for  dados,  panels,  etc.,  they  are  espe- 
cially applicable,  and  are  largely  used  abroad,  for  lining 
the  walls  of  dairies  (the  dairy  farmers  finding  them  supe- 
rior for  cleanliness  and  keeping  the  milk  pure),  for  larders, 
kitchens,  around  sinks  and  cooking-ranges,  in  bath-rooms, 
water-closets,  and  in  stables.  For  such  places  the  six-inch 
plain  white  glazed  tile  is  in  general  use.  Another  very 
important  application  of  wall-tile  is  in  hospitals,  for  com- 
pletely lining  the  walls  of  wards  for  fever  patients.  The 
new  St.  Thomas  hospitals  (erected  in  London  opposite  the 
Houses  of  Parliament)  have  the  fever  wards  lined  with  six- 
inch  white  glazed  tiles,  which,  it  is  believed,  will  prevent 
the  absorption  of  the  germs  of  disease  which  it  is  well- 
known  penetrate  porous  plaster  walls,  and  are  even 
absorbed  by  bricks,  so  that  after  a  time  whole  wards  of 
hospitals  and  entire  buildings  become  unfit  for  occupation. 
The  same  is  true  of  rooms  in  dwellings,  hotels,  and  dormi- 
tories in  colleges.  An  impervious  tile-wall,  which  can  be 
thoroughly  cleaned  by  wiping  with  a  sponge,  is  a  great 
sanitary  improvement,  and  deserves  the  attention  of  physi- 
cians and  architects.  A  thoroughly  vitrified  body  like  por- 
celain, would  be  better  for  the  purpose  than  a  porous 
earthenware  base  with  a  glazed  surface,  though  the  latter 
would,  no  doubt,  be  far  better  than  even  the  hardest 
painted  plaster  wall. 

Another  important  use  of  the  plain  white  glazed,  or 
enamelled  tiles,  is  as  reflectors  in  lining  dark  passages, 
staircases  and  entrances,  especially  in  basements,  or  wher- 
ever there  is  liability  to  dampness  or  a  smoky  atmosphere. 
They  are  largely  used  about  the  stations  of  the  under- 
ground railway  in  London,  particularly  around  the  window- 
openings,  or  wherever  light  is  admitted  through  thick  walls. 
•Most  of  the  lavatories  and  retiring-rooms  of  the  railway 
stations  in  England,  and  on  the  Continent,  are  lined  with 
white  glazed  tiles. 

Encaustic  tiles  may  also  be  either  with  or  without  a 
glaze.     In  this  class  the  design  upon  the  tile  is  not  merely 


WALL   AND   FLOOR   TILES.  283 

stamped  or  painted  on  the  surface,  but  is  impressed  to 
considerable  depth.  The  tiles  are  inlaid.  The  process  in 
Britain  is  as  old  as  the  medifeval  tiles  of  Malvern,  already 
noted.  In  the  ancient  tiles  the  design  was  impressed  in  the 
moist  clay.  In  the  modern  it  is  equally  impressed,  but  at 
the  time  of  forming  the  tile  out  of  the  dust,  leaving  a 
sharply  formed  design,  which  is  subsequently  filled  by  a 
powder  of  another  color.  The  whole  being  pressed  together 
forms  a  homogeneous  mass.  The  impressed  design  is  also 
filled,  in  some  cases  by  a  liquid  slip,  as  in  the  ancient 
tiles,  and  when  dry  the  excess  is  scraped  olF  before  firing. 

The  design  being  impressed  to  a  depth  of  one-eighth  or 
one-quarter  of  an  inch,  and  filled  solidly  with  body  of  a 
different  color  from  the  groundwork  of  the  tile,  is  not 
obliterated  by  wear  until  the  whole  substance  of  the  tile 
has  been  cut  away  to  the  full  depth  of  the  design.  The 
brilliancy  of  the  design  and  of  the  colors  of  the  tile  may, 
as  with  plain  tiles,  be  heightened  by  a  simple  glaze ;  but 
the  surface  is  made  slippery,  and  is  not  so  well  adapted  to 
pavements  as  the  simple  unglazed  surface.  Some  of  the 
colored  bodies,  such  as  blue,  green  and  white,  are  suffi- 
ciently vitrified  in  burning  to  give  a  vitreous  semi-glazed 
appearance.  But  glazed  inlaid  tiles  are  suitable  for  hearths 
where  not  exposed  to  much  wear,  and  are  now  largely  used 
abroad  for  this  purpose.  Their  thickness  and  strength 
renders  them  secure  from  breakage. 

Encaustic  or  inlaid  tiles  are  usually  one  inch  thick,  twice 
the  thickness  required  for  plain  wall-tiles.  They  are  especially 
suitable  for  pavements  in  halls,  corridors  and  vestibules,  or 
wherever  they  would  be  exposed  to  attrition  and  wear  by  the 
fire-irons,  etc. 

Encaustic  and  Enamelled  Tiles  in  Decoration. 

Another  important  application  of  the  encaustic,  and  also  of 
the  enamelled  tiles,  is  found  in  decorating  the  walls  of  build- 
ings, especially  those  of  brick,  either  grouped  in  large  panels, 
or  set  singly  about  the  window-frames  and  cornices. 

The  glazed  encaustic  tiles  are  generally  used  in  mural 
decoration  and  in  fire-places,  for  lining  the  jambs  and  back, 
where  movable  or  basket  grates  are  used.     They  not  only 


284  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

have  the  merit  of  beauty,  but  of  cleanliness,  as  all  smoke, 
soot  or  dust  can  be  easily  wiped  off  the  glazed  faces. 

Majolica  tiles  are  ornamented  with  the  design  in  relief,  pro- 
duced generally  by  the  insertion  of  an  open-work  metallic 
plate  when  moulded,  giving  them  an  embossed  surface,  which 
is  variously  colored  by  enamels,  and  is  highly  glazed.  This 
kind  of  tile  is  extremely  rich  and  brilliant  in  appearance,  and 
is  suited  to  mural  decoration,  such  as  the  walls  and  dados  of 
dining,  smoking-rooms,  libraries,  offices,  stairways,  entrance 
halls,  for  inlaying  cabinet  work,  and  for  mantels  and  fire- 
places. For  this  latter  purpose,  there  were  some  fine 
examples  in  the  exhibition  of  dog-grates  and  fire-place 
fixtures.  They  are  particularly  applicable  to  church-wall 
decoratiou,  grate-cheeks  and  for  flower-boxes.  So  also  the 
enamelled  ornamental .  tile  may  be  used  for  the  same  pur- 
poses, but  more  especially  for  the  walls  of  dairies,  bathing 
and  retiring  rooms,  and  for  baths.  The  ornamentation  is 
added  either  by  hand,  or  is  transferred  from  lithographic 
prints,  but  is  all  upon  the  plain  surface,  not  extending  into 
the  substance  of  the  tile,  as  in  the  encaustic  varieties,  or 
raised  above  the  general  level,  as  in  the  embossed  varieties. 
The  elaborately  painted  tiles  and  slabs  belong  to  this  class,  as 
also  those  which  are  enamelled  in  various  opaque  colored 
enamels. 

The  use  of  tiles  for  flower-boxes  for  windows  has  become 
general,  and  has  raised  a  demand  for  such  as  are  peculiarly 
adapted'  to  the  purpose.  They  are  usually  eight  inches 
square,  half  an  inch  thick,  and  are  inserted  side  by  side  in  a 
simple  wooden  or  zinc  frame-work,  grooved  so  as  to  receive 
and  hold  the  edges  of  the  tiles.  The  majolica  and  painted  tiles 
are  generally  preferred. 

An  important  application  of  tiles  is  for  inscriptions  of  all 
kinds,  street  names,  signs,  numbers,  especially  where  dust 
accumulates,  and  frequent  brushing  or  dusting  is  necessary. 
They  are  largely  used  in  the  underground  railway  in  London, 
for  the  names  of  the  stations.  Messrs.  Minton,  Hollins  &  Co. 
manufacture  every  kind  and  all  sizes  of  these  tiles  for  forming 
inscriptions,  dates  and  texts,  and  direct  attention  especially 
to  their  letter-tiles,  manufactured  expressly  for  street  names, 
and  assert  that  such  tiles  have  been  fixed  in  several  towns  for 


WALL    AND    FLOOR    TILES.  285 

'  more  than  twenty  years  without  being  impaired  in  distinct- 
ness. They  are  affixed  either  by  bedding  in  Portland  cement 
against  the  wall,  with  the  edges  covered  so  as  to  exclude 
water,  or  by  metal  frames  secured  to  the  wall  by  screws,  or  by 
cutting  out  a  recess  as  broad  as  the  tiles,  and  as  long  as  the 
name  requires.  The  tiles  are  then  secured  in  this  recess  by 
cement,  and  the  joints  are  pointed.  .      * 

Memorial  and  Mortuary  Tablets. 

For  memorial  and  mortuary  purposes,  encaustic  tiles,  bear- 
ing inscriptions,  monograms  or  heraldic  devices,  seem  to  be 
jDeculiarly  appropriate.  They  have  the  advantage  of  being 
comparatively  indestructible  by  the  weather,  and  of  holding 
their  colors  unchanged  by  time,  so  that  inscriptions  on  them 
remain  legible  long  after  those  cut  in  stone  have  disappeared. . 
The  material  is  far  more  enduring  than  porphyry  and  granite 
or  marble,  especially  where  exposed  to  the  Aveather  ;  and  even 
if  lost  sight  of  and  buried  for  ages  in.  the  earth,  tiles,  if 
properly  made,  will  retain  their  inscriptions  in  perfection, 
and  may  become  of  great  value  in  antiquarian  researches. 
Being  formed  in  moulds,  duplicate  copies  can  be  made  at 
little  increased  cost,  and  they  could  be  freely  used,  not  only 
in  tombstones,  but  as  memorial  tablets  in  the  walls  of 
churches.  Inscriptions  may  be  made  in  small  but  distinct 
letters,  so  that  a  tile  of  ordinary  size  may  contain  all  that  is 
usually  placed  upon  a  tombstone.  The  compactness  of  such 
inscriptions  renders  it  possible,  if  desired,  to  group  a  number 
in  a  small  space,  and  they  could  be  inserted  side  by  side  in 
the  walls  of  vaults,  or  upon  tombstones  specially  adapted  to 
the  purpose. 

The  memorial  tablets  now  made  and  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
Minton,  Hollins  &  Co.,  are  twelve  inches  square,  and  are  de- 
signed chiefly  for  insertion  in  the  walls  of  churches  or  chapels. 
They  bear  heraldic  devices  or  simple  inscriptions,  and  are 
variously  ornamented  and  colored.  Designs  are  furnished  by 
them  at  the  works,  and  any  inscription  to  order.  I  see  no 
reason  why  such  tiles  should  not  be  inserted  in  ordinary 
tombstones,  in  place  of  the  chiselled  inscriptions,  a  recess 
being  cut  into  the  stone  to  receive  the  tile,  securely  bedded 
in  cement. 


286  EXPOSITIOX    AT    VIENNA. 

Early  examples  of  the  use  of  tiles  for  mortuary  purposes 
are  numerous  and  interesting.  Red  tiles  of  this  nature,  inlaid 
with  black  clay,  have  been  found  in  Devonshire,  Somerset- 
shire and  Surrey,  England.*  It  is  known  that  inlaid  tiles 
were  used  to  mark  the  site  of  graves  in  "Worcestershire  far 
into  the  seventeenth  century.  In  Malvern  Priory  church, 
which  contains  some  of  the  finest  examples  of  heraldic  tablets, 
Richard  Corbet,  a  knight  templar,  who  died  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  has  a  plain  table  monument,  the  sides  and  ends  of 
which  are  covered  with  tiles,  5^  inches  square  and  1^-  inches 
thick,  decorated  with  the  arms  of  the  Corbet  family.  ■}• 

In  the  same  ancient  church,  there  were  examples  of  mono- 
grams, the  letters  impressed  in  the  clay  and  then  filled  in 
with  white  earth,  and  of  pious  inscriptions  in  black-letter  in 
connection  with  them.  Inscriptions  formed  with  small  tiles, 
each  bearing  a  separate  letter,  have  been  found  there,  and  the 
grave  of  Vicar  Edmund  Rea,  1640,  was  marked  by  a  border 
of  such  tiles,  chronicling  his  death. 

In  the  pottery  districts  of  Staffordshire,  earthenware  slabs 
or  gravestones  were  not  uncommon.  Several  examples,  with 
drawings,  of  specimens  in  the  Mayer  collection  are  cited  in 
Meteyard's  Life  of  Wedgwood.  One  is  a  tablet  one  foot 
high,  nine  inches  broad,  and  two  inches  thick;  another,  two 
feet  three  inches  high,  one  foot  seven  inches  broad,  and  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  thick.  One  is  formed  of  seggar  clay,  and 
the  other  of  dark  red  clay,  and  both  are  inscribed,  one  with 
raised  white  letters,  and  the  other  with  the  letters  sunk,  and 
covered  with  a  glaze.  All  of  the  inscriptions  are  remarkably 
clear. 

Building-Tablets. 
Another  example  of  the  use  of  tiles  is  found  in  the  build- 
ing-tablets set  into  the  front  walls  of  houses  to  show  the  date 
of  construction,  and  the  name  of  the  builder  or  ownej*.  The 
custom  was  an  old  one,  and  was  very  generally  followed  in 
the  pottery  region.  Some  of  these  were  made  of  light  brown 
clay,  with  the  ornaments  in  relief  in  yellow  clay.  Others  are 
glazed  white,  with  the  date  and  armorial  bearings  painted  in 

*  Life  of  Josiah  Wedgwood,  Meteyard,  I.,  55. 

t  Antiquarian  and  Architectural  Year  Book,  1844,  p.  147. 


WALL   AND   FLOOR   TILES. 


287 


blue.  It  is  in  this  direction  that  tile-making  connects  itself 
with  the  industry  of  terra-cotta,  especially  in  the  department 
of  mural  decoration  by  slabs  ornamented  in  relief,  either  plain 
or  enamelled. 

Large  numbers  of  tiles  are  now  used  for  decorating  furni- 
ture, being  set  in  the  woodwork  of  cabinets,  tables,  ward- 
robes and  bedsteads.  There  were  several  fine  examples  at 
Vienna,  particularly  in  the  British  section.  For  such  pur- 
poses specially  decorated  tiles  are  desirable.  Plain  white  or 
bufi"  tiles  may  be  decorated  with  figures  or  flowers,  by  paint- 
ing upon  the  glaze.  There  are  artists  who  devote  their  efforts 
to  this  work,  and  the  variety  of  subjects  is  great.  Cottier 
&  Co.,  the  celebrated  decorators  of  interiors,  publish  a  list  of 
classical  and  allegorical  figures,  among  them  such  as  Pomona, 
Flora,  the  Seasons,  Industry,  etc.,  and  a  series  of  heads  of 
poets,  painters,  composers  of  music,  discoverers  and  philoso- 
phers. 

Sizes  and  Shapes  of  Tiles. 
The  sizes  and  shapes  of  tiles  vary  in  different  countries 
and  with  different  manufacturers.  At  the  establishment  of 
Mintou,  Hollins  &  Co.,  and  with  other  British  manufacturers, 
6  X  Q  inches  square  is  the  size  in  most  common  use.  Four 
of  these  make  one  square  foot  of  surface.  But  5x5  inches 
and  3x3  inches  are  also  made,  and  borders  to  correspond. 
The  following  table  shows  the  range  of  sizes  for  plain,  un- 
glazed  tiles  : — 


Squares.  —  6    X  6 
6X5 
4i  X  H 
4i  X  41 
4X4 
H  X  31 
3X3 
2f  X  2| 
H 

H 

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inches. 


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If  X  If 

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11 


Bands. 


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X 

8|  inches 

6\  X 

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6 

X 

4 

6 

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li 

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4^  X 

We 

288  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

Of  each  of  these  sizes  there  are  diagonal  halves  and  quar- 
ters, also  octagons,  hexagons,  pentagons,  lozenges,  and  other 
regular  geoirietrical  shapes.  The  very  small  tiles  or  "  tesseree  " 
range  from  -^^  X  jq  inch  to  1  X  1  inch,  and  are  used  in 
mosaic  work.  There  are  larger  sizes  of  the  enamelled,  orna- 
mental, and  the  majolica  tiles.  The  largest  of  the  former  are 
12x12  inches  ;  9  X  9  inches  and  8x8  inches  are  also  made, 
besides  8x4  inches,  7x7  inches,  6  X  Q  inches,  6x3 
inches,  6x2  inches,  and  6x1  inch. 

The  tiles  in  France,  and  on  the  Continent  generally,  are 
made  in  fractions  of  the  metre,  and  are  larger  than  the  six- 
inch  tile.  The  Dutch  tiles  measure  5^  X  5^  inches,  and 
are  less  than  half  an  inch  thick.  The  old  Saracenic  and  Per- 
sian tiles  are  generally  larger,  being  nearly  one  foot  square.* 

MiNTON,  HoLLiNS  &  Co.,  Patent  Tile  WorJcs,  StoJce-ujion- 
Trent. — The  plain  and  encaustic  tiles  of  this  celebrated  estab- 
lishment have  been  rendered  familiar  to  our  citizens  by  their 
liberal  use  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington  and  in  many  of  our 
public  and  private  buildings.  But  these  fail  to  give  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  variety  and  richness  of  the  designs  which 
are  now  produced  and  largely  used  abroad  for  decoration. 

The  firm  made  a  very  complete  and  interesting  exhibition 
of  all  their  varieties  of  tiles,  whether  for  paving,  mural  decora- 
ration,  or  other  purposes.  One  of  the  broad  wall  spaces  be- 
tween the  columns,  in  the  main  transept  of  the  Vienna  build- 
ing, nearly  opposite  the  beautiful  display  of  Minton's  majolica 
and  porcelain,  was  set  apart  lor  their  use,  and  was  completely 
filled  with  tablets,  painted  slabs,  and  specimens  of  pavements. 
The  series  of  tablets  hung  upon  the  wall  gave  a  square  yard  of 
surface  to  each  diiferent  pattern.  The  greatest  novelties  were 
the  Persian  and  Moorish  patterns,  of  great  beauty  of  design 
and  coloring ;  copies  from  a  series  of  ancient  tiles  recently 
obtained  in  the  East.  There  was  also  tiles  in  imitation  of 
embossed  leather.  Altogether,  it  was  the  most  brilliant 
and  complete  display  of  tiles  in  the  Exhibition,  and  merited 
the  great  interest  with  which  it  was  regarded  by  all  classes  of 
visitors. 

*  Some  interesting  and  peculiar  varieties  of  form  are  noted  beyond  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  exhibition  in  the  Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  sections. 


WALL    AND    FLOOR    TILES.  289 

The  complete  descriptive  list,  to  be  obtained  from  the 
firm,  will  be  more  satisfactory  than  any  general  notice,  though 
nothing  except  chromatic  illustrations  can  give  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  designs  and  perfection  of  color- 
ing, nor  of  the  slabs,  with  groups  of  ferns  and  flowers  from 
nature,  painted  under  the  glaze,  by  the  artists  permanently 
engaged  in  the  art  studio  of  the  firm.  *  The  list  comprises 
more  than  one  hundred  varieties  of  tiles.  We  give  below  a 
page  from  the  catalogue,  which  will  give  an  idea  of  its 
contents  : — 

Descriptive  List  of  Tiles. 

No.  1.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  ^-incli  thick,  of  Persian  design,  for  the 
j)m'pose  of  lining  walls,  for  sides  and  back  of  fireplaces,  and 
for  mural  decoration  generally. 

2.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  i-inch  thick,  design  and  adaptability 

same  as  No.  1. 

3.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  ^-inch  thick,  of  Renaissance  design, 

interspersed  with  jDlain  glazed  tiles,  suitable  for  walls  and 
dados  generally,  including  chancel  walls. 

4.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  i-inch  thick,  design  and  adaptability 

same  as  No.  1. 

5.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  -|-inch  thick,  design  and  adaptability 

same  as  No.  1. 

6.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  -i-inch  thick,  design  and  adaptability 

same  as  No.  1. 

7.  Enamelled  and  Painted  Tiles,  ^-inch  thick,  Fables,  etc.,  for  the 

purpose  of  lining  the  sides  of  fireplaces,  inlaying  Avith  cabinet 
furniture,  and  for  mural  decoration  generally. 

8.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  -I-inch  thick,  of  Renaissance  design ; 

adaptability  same  as  No.  1. 

9.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  |-inch  thick,  of  Persian  design   (un- 

glazed  ground,  the  ornament  enamelled  and  gilt),  for  the 
purpose  of  lining  walls,  and  for  sides  and  back  of  fireplaces  ; 
suitable  also  for  chancel  walls,  etc. 

10.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  -I-inch  thick;    adaptability  same    as 

No.  1. 

11.  Embossed  Majolica  Tiles,  |-inch  thick,  of  Grecian  design,  for 

the  purpose  of  lining  the  sides  of  firej)laces,  and  other  mural 
decoration. 

12.  Enamelled  and  Gilt  Tiles,  i-inch  thick,  of  Gothic  design,  suitable 

for  lining  walls  and  dados. 

13.  Enamelled  and  Gilt  Tiles,  i-inch  thick,  of  Grecian  design,  suit- 

able for  lining  walls  and  dados. 

14.  Enamelled  and  Gilt  Tiles,  |-inch  thick,  of  Gothic  design,  suitable 

for  the  sides  of  fireplaces,  inlaying  with  furniture,  and  for 
other  mural  decoration. 
37 


290  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

The  manufacture  of  encaustic  tiling  was  commenced  in  1840 
by  Mr.  Herbert  Minton,  and  is  now  carried  on  by  Mr.  Hollius 
in  a  new  establishment,  built  upon  the  old  site  at  Stoke-upon- 
Trent.  The  business  has  increasetl  enormousl3^  Aside  from 
the  ordinary  demand  for  paving  tiles,  there  is  a  constantly 
increasing  consumption  of  plain  white  tiles  for  stables,  scul- 
leries, closets,  walk,  etc.  The'  plain  white,  glazed  tiles  are 
sold  at  the  works  as  low  as  2^d.,  equal  to  about  five  cents 
each ;  and,  considering  how  superior  they  are  to  any  other 
material,  perhaps  not  even  excepting  marble,  for  facing  walls, 
which  it  is  important  to  cleanse  often,  the  large  consumption  is 
not  surprising.  But  the  demand  has  also  increased  enormously 
for  the  encaustic  and  ornamental  tiles,  owing  not  only  to  the 
greater  number  exported  to  the  United  States,  Australia  and 
other  countries,  but  to  the  more  general  appreciation  and 
increased  use  of  them  in  England. 

The  great  expansion  of  the  industry  required  increased 
facilities  for  the  manufacture,  and  led  Mr.  Hollins,  now  the 
chief  owner  and  the  manager,  to  erect  new  buildings  specially 
arranged  for  the  rapid  and  economical  manipulation  of  the 
large  quantities  of  material.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Hollins, 
I  was  allowed  to  inspect  the  whole  establishment,  and  to  see 
every  detail  of  the  manufacture.  'It  may  be  considered  a 
model.  The  clays  are  landed  at  a  commodious  wharf  on  one 
side,  and  the  finished  goods  are  delivered  on  the  other  side. 
The  movement  of  the  materials  is  in  one  direction  forward  from 
the  clay  heaps  through  the  mixing  and  moulding  rooms,  to 
the  furnaces,  and  from  the  furnaces  to  the  packing  rooms, 
without  carrying  back  and  forth.  The  materials  are  selected 
and  combined  with  great  care,  so  as  to  insure  the  greatest 
possible  strength  and  perfection  in  the  product.  For  the  red 
tiles  and  the  bufi"  tiles,  clays  are  obtained  in  the  vicinity,  and 
are  remarkably  well  adapted  to  the  purpose.  The  white  body 
is  formed  of  a  mixture  of  the  Cornish  clays  and  calcined  flint. 
As  much  care  is  taken  in  the  preparation  as  is  bestowed  upon 
the  manufacture  of  the  body  for  stone-china.  The  basis  of 
the  colored  enamelled  tiles  is  equally  Avhite  and  strong. 
Skilled  artists  of  reputation  are  constantly  engaged  in  the 
decoration  of  slabs  and  large  tiles  for  special  purposes.  The 
risk  of  breakage  or  distortion  of  the  large  slabs  in  the  succes- 


WALL   AND   FLOOR   TILES.  .  291 

sive  firings  to  which  they  must  be  submitted,  is  so  great,  that 
they  are  now  usually  made  in  three  or  more  parts,  or  tiles, 
and  are  fitted  together  after  the  last  firing. 

Great  labor  is  expended  upon  the  finer  qualities  of  encaustic 
tiles.  They  are  made  chiefly  by  hand,  of  moist  clay,  and  are 
finished  by  scraping.  Such  tiles  cost  from  Is.  to  2s.  "(yd.  each, 
and  are  too  costly  for  general  use. 

Eleven  or  twelve  large  kilns  are  required  for  the  burning. 
An  engine  of  sixty  horse-power  suffices  to  do  the  grinding  and 
mixing  of  the  materials.  An  average  of  700  persons  is 
employed. 

Other  exhibitions  of  the  encaustic  and  enamelled  tiles  were 
made  in  the  British  section  by  Robert  Minton  Taylor,  and  by 
the  Mintons,  the  latter  being  chiefly  enamelled  tiles  and  slabs 
for  grates,  hearths  and  flower-boxes.  Messrs.  Maw  &  Son 
did  not  exhibit,  but  manufacture  tiles  in  great  variety  from 
designs  by  distinguished  artists.* 

Simpson,  W.  B.,  &  Sons,  London,  exhibited  a  chimney- 
piece  of  art  tiles  and  walnut  wood,  with  tiled  sides,  arranged 
for  an  open  grate. 

Dutch  Tiles. 
.  Gebruder  Eavesteijn,  Westraven,  near  Utrecht,  made  a 
very  complete  display  of  the  cheap  tiles  of  Holland,  arranging 
them  upon  the  sides  of  a  tall  pyramidal  column.  They  are 
characterized  by  crude  and  quaint  designs,  usually  in  blue 
or  purple  upon  white  enamelled  ground.  There  were  also 
yellow,  black  and  marbled  tiles  in  great  variety,  but  no  data 
as  regards  production  and  cost  could  be  obtained. 

These  tiles  are  designed  chiefl}^  for  wall  decoration,  being 
thin,  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and  with  a  smooth, 
glazed  surface.  They  measure  five  and  one-quarter  inches 
square,  and  are  not  very  strong.  Their  use  about  old- 
fashioned  fireplaces  is  well  known,  and  there  is  more  or  less 

*  Most  of  the  larger  tile  works  of  Great  Britian  are  represented  by  agents  in  the 
United  States.  Messrs.  Miller  &  Coates,  of  New  York,  have  long  represented  Messrs. 
Minton,  Hollins  &  Co.,  and  the  public  are  indebted  to  them  for  great  efforts  to  extend 
the  use  of  tiling  for  decorative  purposes.  The  establishment  of  R.  Minton  Tayjor  is 
represented  by  Mr.  Thomas  Aspinwall,  39  Murray  Street,  N.  Y. ;  and  Maw  &  Son, 
by  Anderson,  Merchant  &  Co, 


292  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

demand  for  them  at  the  present  time  for  the  same  purpose. 
An  agency  was  established  for  these  tiles  in  Boston  a  few 
years  since,  and  they  can  now  be  obtained  there  at  a  moderate 
price. 

Yast  quantities  of  the  Dutch  tiles  were  imported  in  Eng- 
land about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  for  fireplaces,  but 
after  the  discovery  of  the  method  of  transferring  designs  by 
printing  from  paper  to  earthenware,  about  the  year  1752,  the 
manufacture  of  imitations  commenced,  and  the  demand  was  in 
part  supplied  by  home-made  printed  tiles. 

Ancient  Tiles — Samaecand. 
For  the  exhibition  in  the  Eussian  section,  of  a  suite  of  the 
curious  enamelled  tiles  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries, 
from  the  mosques  of  Samarcand,  we  are  indebted  to  the  Museum 
of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  at  St.  Peters- 
burg. The  specimens  consisted  of  capitals,  parts  of  columns 
and  cornices,  and  of  brickwork  and  tiles.  The  tiles  or  plates 
vary  in  size  from  8  X  10  inches  to  12  inches  square,  and 
12  X  16  inches,  and  even  larger.  They  are  heavily  and 
boldly  incised,  so  as  to  form  the  designs  to  a  depth  of  an  inch 
or  more,  and  were  evidently  moulded,  probably  in  cement  or 
plaster  moulds ;  but  some  parts  of  the  designs,  especially 
Arabic  letters,  are  undercut,  apparently  by  hand-trimming 
after  the  clay  had  partly  dried.  The  designs  and  inscriptions 
are  all  remarkably  sharp,  and  appear  as  if  carved  out.  The 
sections  of  columns  are  15  to  18  inches  long,  and  3  inches  in 
diameter,  half  round,  with  raised  spiral  ornamentation.  The 
principal  colors  of  the  enamelling  are  dark  blue,  white,  light 
green  and  a  bluish  green.  Light  bufi'-colored  bricks  were 
combined  with  short  pieces  of  glazed  torquoise  blue  tile  set 
between  them,  producing  an  excellent  effect. 

French  Tiles  and  Plaques. 
In  the  French  Section,  the  beautiful  mantel  by  Th.  Deck, 
Paris,  and  the  mural  tile  decoration,  by  Callinot,  were  the 
chief  attractions  to  be  noticed  under  the  head  of  Tiles. 

Deck's  mantel,  or  rather  chimney-piece,  of  enamelled 
earthenware,  is  formed  of  tiles  about  nine   inches    square. 


WALL    AND    FLOOR    TILES.  293 

Each  tile  bears  a  part  of  the  general  design.  A  jardiniere, 
lined  with  a  movable  zinc  or  copper  tray,  takes  the  place  of 
a  mantel-shelf,  and  is  designed  to  be  filled  with  cut  or  grow- 
ing flowers.  The  whole  stands  about  twelve  feet  high,  and 
is  valued  at  10,000  francs, 

E.  CoLLiNOT,  Paris,  made  the  most  complete  and  varied 
display  of  enamelled  faience  imitations  of  Persian  and  Ori- 
ental. The  prominent  objects  were  the  broad  mural  panels 
of  the  pavilion,  or  canopy,  within  which  the  smaller  objects, 
such  as  vases,  plaques  and  dishes,  were  arranged.  Even 
the  columns  supporting  the  canopy  were  formed  of  the 
same  material  as  the  vases,  and  all  were  highly  decorated 
in  Persian  designs,  laid  on  in  brilliant  but  thick  enamel,  so 
that  each  color  stood  out  separately  and  in  relief,  without 
running  into  or  blending  with  the  next.  This  was  the 
characteristic  style  of  the  enamel  decoration,  and  resembled 
the  remarkable  work  by  Parrillez,  upon  dishes  and  vases. 
The  tiles,  or  plates,  for  panels  in  the  walls  of  apartments, 
were  about  one  metre  long  and  half  a  metre  wide,  several 
being  grouped  together  to  form  one  panel  some  ten  feet 
long  and  three  feet  wide.  One  of  these  panels,  decorated 
in  boldly-drawn  figures  of  rocks,  leaves  and  flowers,  in 
Chinese  style,  attracted  much  attention,  and  was  sold  to 
the  Grand  Duke  Vladimir  of  Russia.  Another  panel  was 
decorated  with  branches  of  the  Japanese  flowering  peach, 
of  full  size  and  excellent  in  color,  and  with  showy  aquatic 
plants,  all  upon  a  groundwork  or  background  of  canary 
yellow  enamel.  Work  of  this  kind,  for  walls  of  apart- 
ments, is  furnished  at  450  francs  per  square  metre ;  the 
great  cost  being  in  the  artistic  decoration,  for  the  basis  is 
cheap  clay  ware,  which  seems  hardly  worthy  of  such  expen- 
sive and  beautiful  additions.  The  raised,  embossed  form  of 
the  enamel,  obtained  doubtless  by  successive  additions,  is 
peculiarly  favorable  to  the  distinctness  of  the  flowers, 
giving  them  a  decided  relief  above  the  surface,  while 
their  outlines  are  sharply  set  off  from  the  groundwork. 
The  productions  of  this  artist  have  received  gold  and 
silver  medals  at  the  successive  great  Exhibitions,  and  he 
has    been  honored   by   an   imperial   decoration   in   recogni- 


294  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

tion    of    his    services   to   art,    in   reviving   Persian   ceramic 
designs. 

Reference  should  here  be  made  to  the  notice  in  a  previ- 
ous portion  of  the  Report  of  the  display  made  by  Deck, 
and  to  the  section  upon  Enamelled  Terra-cotta,  etc. 

Tiles  erom  India. 

Several  collections  of  ancient  tiles  were  forwarded  from 
India,  most  of  them  being  taken  from  tombs  at  Tatta,  and 
from  a  ruined  fortress  near  the  same  place  on  the  Buggar, 
a  western  branch  of  the  Indus,  built  in  the  year  a.  d. 
1421.  The  following  account  of  the  method  of  making 
tiles  is  taken  from  notes  sent  on  by  the  Local  Committee 
in  India. 

Tiles  are  prepared  in  moulds,  and  when  dried  are  rubbed 
over  with  a  piece  of  wet  cloth,  and  beaten  with  an  earthen 
maul  for  the  purpose  of  smoothing  the  surface.  They  are 
then  kept  for  two  or  three  days,  or  more,  till  they  become 
sufficiently  firm ;  and,  after  having  been  cut  to  the  proper 
size,  are  piled  in  layers  in  the  sun  to  dry. 

The  tiles,  having  been  sun-dried,  may  then  be  sent  to 
the  kiln,  after  which  the  required  pattern  is  traced  upon 
them  in  the  following  manner :  "  A  perforated  paper  pat- 
tern is  placed  upon  the  surface  and  powdered  charcoal 
is  sprinkled  over  it.  On  removing  the  paper  the  pattern 
remains  on  the  earthenware,  and  is  then  brushed  over  with 
a  solution  called  '  Sahree.'  When  this  is  dry,  glaze  of  the 
required  color  is  prepared  and  poured  over  it ;  the  article 
is  then  allowed  to  dry  again,  after  which  it  is  placed  in  the 
glazing  kiln  and  fired."  The  "Sahree"  appears  to  be  a  col- 
ored clay  difiering  from  the  body  of  the  tile. 

The  use  of  colored  tiles  in  Indian  architecture  is  referretl 
to  the  third  period,  beginning  with  the  8ur  dynasty  in 
1540,  when  colored  decoration  was  first  introduced  with 
boldness. 

"  The  system  of  encaustic  tiling  had  been  introduced 
about  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century  in  Persia,  where 
the  ruined  mosque  of  Tabreez  is  said  still  to  glow  with  a 
most  elaborate  pattern  and  hue.  The  first  fine  specimen  of 
this  art  in  Upper  India  seems  to  be  the  Killa  Kona  mosque, 


WALL    AND    FLOOR    TILES. 


295 


in  the  Poorana  Killa,  which  was  the  citadel  of  Sher 
Shak's  city,  just  outside  the  Delhi  Gate  of  the  modern 
town."*  Fergussou  says  that  colored  tiles  were  then  freely 
employed. 

Spanish  Tiles. 
SoLERiA,    A.    Y.,    Tarragona.      In    the    Spanish    section 
there  were  some  interesting  forms  of  tiles  and  mosaic  work, 
glazed  and  encaustic, 
but  chiefly  glazed  or 
enamelled,  on  a  basis 
of  .brick   clay.     The 
largest    square    tiles 
measure  1\  inches  on 


a  side,  and  are  five- 
eiffhths  of  an  inch 
thick.  The  tiles,  of 
which  two  of  the 
forms  and  combina- 
tions are  here  shown 
in  outline,  are  much  smaller,  the  hexagons  being  about  2\ 
inches  long  and  1^  inches  wide.     The  colors  are  black  and 

*  green,     and 

the  star 
between  is 
white. 

The  pecul- 
iar curved 
triangular 
tile,  about 
two  inches 
broad  and 
enamelled  in 

different  colors,  produces  a  pleasing  though  somewhat  bewil- 
dering effect. 

Laying  and  Setting  Tiles. 
One  great  drawback  to  the  general  use    of  tiles    in   the 
United  States,  especially  in  private  residences  in  the  coun- 

*  H.  G.  Reene,  in  a  "  Note  on  the  Stone  Industries  of  Agra." 


296  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

try,  has  been  the  supposed  difficulty  of  setting  them  prop- 
erly. In  the  large  cities  the  agents  usually  keep  experi- 
enced men  in  their  employ,  who  can  lay  down  the  tiles  if 
desired.  A  few  simple  directions  will,  however,  enable 
any  skilful  mason  to  fix  them  properly. 

The  foundation  must  be  firm  and  secure  in  all  cases,  so 
that  there  shall  not  be  any  settling  or  absence  of  equal 
support  under  all  parts  of  the  pavement.  Cement  mortar, 
without  sand,  is  used  in  setting  the  tiles,  so  that  a  perfect 
bearing  is  obtained  and  all  the  joints  are  filled.  The  fol- 
lowing directions  are  copied,  with  only  slight  modifications, 
from  those  published  by  Messrs.  Minton,  Hollins  &  Co  : — 

1.  If  there  is  no  cellar  or  other  opening  underneath  the  space 
intended  for  the  tile  pavement,  the  foundation  ma}^  be  brought  up  to 
within  three  inches  of  the  proposed  surface  of  the  pavement  with  brick, 
gravel,  broken  stone,  clean  stone  clippings,  or  other  solid  waste  sub- 
stances free  from  chips  and  shavings,  so  that  complete  solidity  may 
be  secured.  Upon  this  substratum  a  mortar  of  gravel  and  cement 
s'hould  be  spread,  leaving  a  depth  of  one  inch  for  half-inch  tiles,  and 
of  one  and  a  half  inches  for  one-inch  tiles.  A  floating  of  cement  and 
sand,  in  equal  proportions,  should  then  be  spread  one-quarter  of  an 
inch  thick,  over  the  cement  and  gravel  layer.  Upon  this,  when  hard, 
the  tiling  may  be  fixed. 

2.  The  above  method  is  equally  applicable,  as  far  as  requisite,  to 
places  above  a  cellar  or  other  opening  below,  provided  a  firm  founda- 
tion is  given  by  an  archway  of  brick  or  stone,  or  other  equally  solid 
substance.  But  when  there  is  onl}-  an  ordinary  floor  or  floor-joist, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  surface  of  this  floor  should  be  four  inches 
lower  than  the  surface  of  the  intended  pavement.  There  being,  at 
that  depth,  a  strong  flooring  of  plank  or  rough  boards,  the  mixture 
of  cement  and  gravel,  as  above,  may  be  spread  upon  it,  and  finished 
in  the  same  manner. 

3.  Where  it  is  required  to  replace  boarded  flooring  by  tiles,  and 
it  is  impracticable  to  lower  the  joists  to  the  necessary  depth,  as 
mentioned  in  2,  the  floor  boards  maybe  lowered  by  "  cutting  in" 
between  the  joists,  securing  them  below  by  strips  nailed  to  the  sides 
of  the  joist,  so  as  to  leave  a  space  three  inches  deep  above  the 
boards,  and  below  the  top  of  the  joists.  The  space  so  obtained  is 
then  to  be  filled  in  between  the  joists  with  the  cement  and  gravel 
mortar,  raising  it  slightly  above  the  joists,  and  finishing  off  with 
cement  and  sand,  as  described  in  1 .  A  flat,  level  surface  of  this  last 
coating  may  be  secured  by  striking  off  with  a  straight  edge,  sup- 


WALL    AND    FLOOR    TILES.  297 

ported  at  each  end  upon  parallel  strips  either  fixed  to  the  walls,  or 
otherwise  secured  on  a  level. 

4.  It  is  not  advisable  to  la}^  tiling  upon  a  floor  of  boards,  as  it 
yields  so  much  as  to  loosen  the  tiles. 

5.  For  affixing  tiles  to  walls,  it  is  best  to  renaove  the  plastering, 
and  replace  it  by  a  coating  of  cement  mortar,  upon  which,  after  set- 
ting, the  tiles  are  imbedded  with  cement.  A  space,  one-quarter  of 
an  inch  in  depth,  should  be  left  for  the  purpose. 

6.  Placing  the  tiles.  It  is  best  to  work  from  the  centre  of  the 
space,  and  if  the  design  is  intricate,  to  lay  out  a  portion  of  the  pave- 
ment according  to  the  plan,  upon  a  smooth  floor  near  by,  fitting  the 
tiles  together  as  thc}^  are  to  be  laid.  Lines  being  stretched  over  the 
foundation,  at  right  angles,  the  fixing  may  proceed,  both  the  tiles 
and  the  foundation  being  previously  soaked  in  cold  water,  to  pre- 
vent the  too  rapid  drying  of  the  cement,  and  to  se<3ure  better 
adhesion.  The  border  should  be  left  until  the  last.  Its  position, 
and  that  of  the  tiles,  are  to  be  obtained  from  the  drawing,  or  by 
measuring  the  tiles  when  laid  loosely  upon  the  floor.  The  cement 
for  fixing  should  be  mixed  thin,  in  small  quantities,  and  without 
sand.  It  is  best  to  float  the  tiles  to  their  places,  so  as  to  exclude 
air  and  fill  all  the  space  between  them  and  the  foundation. 

For  fixing  tiles  in  grate-cheeks,  sides  and  backs  of  fireplaces,  etc., 
equal  parts  of  sand,  plaster  of  Paris  and  hair  mortar  may  be  used. 
These  materials  should  be  mixed  with  hot  glue  to  the  consistency  of 
mortar.     The  tiles  should  be  well  soaked  in  warm  water. 

Tiles  rnay  be  cut  in  the  following  manner  :  Draw  a  line  with  a 
pencil  or  sharp  point  where  the  break  is  desired  ;  then,  placing  the 
tile  upon  a  form  board,  or  imbedding  it  in  sand  on  a  fiag-stone,  tap  it 
moderately  with  a  sharp  chisel  and  a  hammer  along  the  line,  back 
and  forth,  or  scratch  it  with  a  file.  The  tile  may  then  be  broken  in 
the  hand  by  a  gentle  blow  at  the  back,  ^he  edges,  if  required,  may 
be  smoothed  by  grinding,  or  by  rubbing  with  sand  and  water  on  a 
flat  stone. 

Cement  should  not  be  allowed  to  harden  upon  the  surface  of  the 
tile  if  it  can  be  prevented,  as  it  is  difficult  to  remove  it  after  it  has 
set.  Stains  of  cement,  or  the  thin  coating  which  is  almost  unavoida- 
ble, upon  the  surface  of  the  tiles  after  laying,  may  be  removed  by 
a  dilute  solution  of  hj'drochloric  acid,  to  be  obtained  of  any  druggist, 
and  then  washing  with  warm  water. 

Mosaic  Pavements  and  Pictures. 
The  finest  example  of.  mosaic  paving,  at  least  upon  a  large 
scale,  was  to  be  seen  in  the  vestibule  of  the  Imperial  Pavil- 
ion, laid  down  by  Italian  workmen. 

38 


298  •       EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

In  the  Russian  section,  Alexander  FrolofF  exhibited  a  pic- 
ture of  St.  Catherine,  and  Jean  Bouroukhine  one  of  St.  Aua- 
stasins,  and  of  Jesus  blessing  little  children.  All  of  these 
mosaic  pictures  are  from  the  original,  by  Professor  Neff,  and 
are  intended  for  the  Isaac  Cathedral.  The  same  artists,  and 
others  of  the  Imperial  Mosaic  Works  at  St.  Petersburg,  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  Paris  Exposition  in  1867.  The  tes- 
serae are  more  vitreous  than  ordinary  tile  material,  and  are 
made  at  the  Imperial  Glass  Works.  The  mosaic  establish- 
ment was  started  in  Rome  in  1846,  and  was  transferred  to 
St.  Petersburg  in  1856,  and  connected  with  the  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts. 

MiNTON,  HoLLiNS  &  COMPANY,  exhibited  three  or  more 
mosaic  pieces,  Nos.  85,  86,  and  87,  suitable  for  church  or 
d,omestic  pavements.  They  were  in  the  form  of  slabs,  with 
encaustic  (inlaid)  centre-pieces. 

A  considerable  quantity  of  smaller  mosaic  tiles  (tesserse) 
were  shown,  but  no  information  concerning  them  could  be 
obtained.  The  form  was  triangular,  about  an  inch  on  a  side, 
and  the  colors  chiefly  blue  and  yellow.  There  were  also  large 
blue  and  white  tiles,  some  with  raised  Moresque  designs. 

The  art,  as  we  have  seen,  was  carried  into  Britain  by  the 
Romans,  and  appears  to  have  been  the  forerunner  of  the  tile 
pavements.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  most 
perfect  tesserte  are  now  made  in  Great  Britain,  and  of  the 
same  materials  used  for  the  encaustic  tiles.  The  colors  and 
the  methods  of  manufacture  are  the  same,  the  difi'erence  being 
in  the  size.  The  sizes,  as  made  by  Messrs.  Minton,  Hollins 
&  Co.,  vary  from  little  cubes,  one-sixteenth  and  one-eighth  of 
an  inch  square  to  one-half  of  an  inch  square,  and  even  larger 
for  some  purposes.  They  are  made  square,  triangular,  and 
of  various  shapes,  and  in  all  shades  of  color. 

The  difficulty  and  the  cost  of  setting  these  tesserte  depend 
upon  their  size  and  the  nature  of  the  design.  A  given  design 
being  furnished,  and  the  size  of  the  mosaic  when  finished,  the 
Messrs.  Minton,  Hollins  &  Co.,  form  it  in  slabs,  each  meas- 
uring about  one  yard  square  and  two  and  pne-half  inches  in 
thickness,  convenient  to  handle  and  transport  and  to  place  in 
the  intended  position.     This  is  the  method  usually  followed 


ROOFING    TILES.  299 

for  large  pieces  of  work,  such  as  the  frieze  at  the  Albert 
Hall.  This  firm  has  rooms  with  broad  platforms,  specially 
fitted  up  for  this  kind  of  art  work,  and,  when  desired,  appro- 
priate designs  are  furnished  for  any  position  or  size  of  the  in- 
tended mosaic. 

This  is  an  important  branch  of  art,  which  is  destined  to 
occupy  a  much  larger  share  of  attention  than  has  been 
hitherto  given.  The  mosaics  are  especially  adapted  to  rere- 
dos  friezes,  chancel  pavements,  entrance  halls,  doorways, 
porches,  and  in  panels  for  mural  decoration.  A  number  of 
pictures  and  figures,  worked  at  the  rooms  of  Messrs.  M.,  H. 
&  Co.,  are  exhibited  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum.  In 
the  frieze  of  the  Eoyal  Albert  Hall  there  are  over  five  thou- 
sand square  feet  covered  with  mosaic,  and  the  average  size  of 
the  tesserae  does  not  exceed  half  an  inch  square.  In  the 
London  International  Exhibition  of  1871  there  was  an  inter- 
esting variety  of  specimens  of  mosaic  work  by  Maw  &  Co., 
W.  B.  Simpson  &  Co.,  and  Minton,  Hollins  &  Co.  The  ob- 
jects embraced  such  designs  as  the  Lord's  Supper,  head  of 
Isaiah,  emblems  of  the  evangelists,  etc. 

EooFiNG  Tiles. 

This  firm  also  manufacture  a  very  ornamental  roofing  tile, 
of  three  shapes,  as  shown  by  the  figures,  and  of  a  variety  of 
colors,  —  either  those  of  the  plain,  un- 
glazed  body,  such  as  black,  chocolate, 
or  red,  or  enamelled  with  opaque  glaze, 
in  blue,  green,  orange,  or  white.  Such 
tiles  are  suitable  far  ornamental  cottages  where  the  roof  is 
a  conspicuous  feature,  for  school-houses,  boat-houses,  turrets, 
conservatories,  etc.  They  are  very  strong  and  indestructible, 
and  make  a  good  roof.  The  plain  are  sold  as  low  as  two- 
pence each ;  the  glazed  at  threepence,  and  the  enamelled  at 
fourpence  each,  all  at  the  works.  The  large  roof  of  St. 
Stephen's  Church  in  Vienna  is  one  of  the  finest  examples  of 
the  use  of  colored  tiles  for  roofing. 

Some  green  bottle-glass  tiles  were  seen  in  the  Hungarian 
section,  about  16  inches  long,  5  inches  wide,  and  |th  inch 
thick.  Each  tile  has  a  projection  on  the  under  side,  which 
serves  to  hold  it  upon  the  roof. 


300 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


Porcelain  Stove  Tiles. 
The  so-called  "  porcelain  "  or  German  stoves,  familiar  to 
those  who  have  resided  in  Germany,  Austria  or  Huiigary, 
were  extensively  exhibited  in  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  sec- 
tions. The  material  is  not  porcelain,  but  earthenware, 
moulded  into  tiles  or  hollow  bricks  about  six  or  eight  inches 
square  and  several  iaches  thick.  They  are  made  in  a  great 
variety  of  ornamental  forms,  and  are  generally  glazed  on  the 
outer  or  exposed  face,  either  white, — which  is  most  common, 
— or  brown,  red,  green,  or  black.  Besides  the  ordinary  flat- 
faced  tiles,  they  are  made  with  incised  or  raised  designs,  or 
are  moulded  in  high  relief,  so  that  when  combined  th-ey  form 
recessed  panels  or  projecting  fillets  and  mouldings,  in  a 
variety  of  architectural  patterns. 

The  back  portion  of  the.tile  exposed  to  the  fire  or  heated  gases 
rising  from  it,  is  perforated  and  peculiarly  shaped,  so  as  to 
expose  a  large  surface  and  make  a  series  of  tubular  openings 
favorable  to  the  absorption  of  the  heat  in  the  body  of  the  tile. 
The  shape  of  the  stove  formed  of  these  tiles  varies  with  the 
taste   of  the   fabricant   and   the  demands  of  the    consumer. 

The  annexed  figure,  from  one  of  the 
stoves  made  by  J.  Fischer  of  Pesth, 
Hungary,  and  the  succeeding  illustra- 


tions, will  give 


good  idea  of 


use,  with  huge 


the 
general  appearance  of  such  stoves. 
They  are  generally  from  six  to  eight 
or  ten  feet  high,  with  a  breadth  of 
three  or  four  feet.  Usually  there  is 
a  deep  recess  above  the  fire-space,  or 
an  opening  quite  through,  the  stove 
being  divided  in  that  portion,  into 
the  parts  united  above  by  an  entab- 
lature and  cornice.  Cylindrical  or 
columnar  stoves  are  also  made ;  in- 
deed, the  modifications  are  numer- 
ous, to  conform  to  the  varying  taste 
or  fashion  of  the  time.  Lower  and 
l)roader  stoves  are  now  coming  into 
openings  in  front,  so  that  the  fire  may  be 


PORCELAIN    STOVE    TILES. 


301 


seen  and  enjoyed  as  in  an  open  fireplace,  while  the  heat  is 
much  better  utilized.     The   accompanying  figures  are  from 


the  designs  exhibited  in  the  Austrian  section  by  Joseph  de 
Ceute  of  Vienna,  but  give  only  a  faint  idea  of  the  variety 
and  beauty  of  the  stoves  which  he  manufactures.  The  lower 
and  broader  forms  are  from  four  to  five  feet  across  the  front, 
and  much  resemble  the  modern  low  mantels  for  grates.  The 
fittings  in  front,  to  close  the  openings,  are  of  brass,  highly 
polished.  The  exhibitor  gives  the  following  schedule  of 
prices  for  the  ordinary  sizes  of  stoves,  gray  and  white,  deliv- 
ered at  the  establishment  in  Vienna  : — 


Height, 
Inches. 

Breadth  of 
Base, 
Inches. 

Price  in 

Flokins. 

Height, 
Inches. 

Breadth  of 
Base, 
Inches. 

Pkice  in 

Florins. 

Gray. 

White. 

Gray. 

Wliite. 

61 

18 

35 

38 

•    74 

26 

80 

90 

65 

20 

42 

45 

78 

26 

90 

100 

68 

22    . 

50 

55 

82 

28 

100 

120 

72 

24- 

60 

65 

30 

120 

140 

302  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

The  dimensions  are  given  in  inches,  and  the  price,  in 
Austrian  florins,  equivalent  to  about  fifty  cents  in  currency. 
The  price  of  packing  ranges  from  six  florins  upward, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  stove. 

Another  very  interesting  display  of  stoves  of  this  descrip- 
tion, and  particularly  of  the  tiles  in  great  variety,  was  made 
by  Bernhard  Erndt,  (court  potter)  Vienna,  whose  manu- 
factory is  in  the  ix.  Bezisk^  Rossau,  Pramergasse,  No.  25. 
The  patterns  of  his  tiles  are  jDeculiarly  attractive,  many 
being  deeply  recessed  and  enamelled  in  bright  colors, — 
brown,  green,  blue,  white  and  variegated.  The  stoves  and 
stove-tiles  made  in  Berlin  are  in  high  repute,  g,nd  are  even 
imported  to  Vienna.  They  are  to  be  seen,  among  other 
places  in  that  city,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Engineers  and 
Architects'  Association. 

It  is  evident  that  the  manufacture  of  "porcelain  stoves," 
the  tiles  for  them,  and  the  fitting,  constitute  important 
branches  of  industry  in  the  Grerman  speaking  countries. 
Such  stoves,  especially  as  now  made,  and  susceptible  of 
further  improvements,  have  many  great  advantages  over 
other  heating  apparatus,  and  might  be  introduced  with  suc- 
cess in  some  sections  of  the  United  States.  The  following 
are  some  of  their  merits,  as  compared  with  the  ordinary 
cast  or  sheet-iron  stoves  for  heating  apartments. 

1.  Not  being  good  conductors  of  heat,  they  radiate  it 
slowly  and  without  sudden  changes  ;  and  being  bulkj'^  they 
retain  heat  for  a  long  time,  and  maintain  an  equable,  mod- 
erate temperature  in  the  apartment,  even  long  after  the 
fire  has  burned  out. 

2.  They  do  not  scorcli  and  "  burn  the  air,"  or  the  float- 
ing particles  of  dust  in  it,  as  is  the  case  with  highly-heated 
metallic  stoves. 

3.  They  combine  to  a  great  degree  the  advantages  of 
an  open  fireplace  and  of  a  stove,  giving  ventilation,  per- 
mitting the  fire  to  be  seen,  while  most  of  the  heat  is  util- 
ized, being  stored  up  in  the  mass  of  the  tiles  and  slowly 
radiated.  Doubtless  such  stoves  would  fail  to  satisfy  those 
wiio  require  a  red-hot  surface,  super-heated  air,  and  little 
ventilation ;  but  many  improvements  might  be  made,  so  thai 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  303 

all   the   heat   which   wholesome    conditions    require    can   be 
obtained  without  difficulty  and  with  great  economy. 

Reference  should  here  be  made  to  the  highly  ornamental 
tile  stove  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Minton,  Hollins  &  Co., 
No.  107  of  their  list,  already  referred  to.  It  was  specially 
designed  for  the  cabin  of  a  yacht,  and  was  an  example  of 
the  use  of  tiles  for  overlaying  m.etn\.  stoves,  or  frames, 
rather  than  as  constituting  the  body  of  the  stove  or  chief 
repository  of  the  heat. 

lY.     Teeea-Cott  a— B  e  I  c  k  . 

At  each  succeeding  great  Exhibition,  the  importance  of 
the  industry  of  brick  appears  to  be  more  fully  recognized 
and  represented.  Always  interesting  to  constructors,  it 
Becomes  more  generally  so  to  the  public  as  attention  is 
more  and  more  directed  to  ornamental  forms  and  colors. 
This  tendency  happily  exists,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  has 
already  resulted  in  Europe  in  the  production  of  a  variety 
of  very  useful  forms  of  building  brick,  of  enamelled  brick, 
and  of  elaborate  decorative  work  in  terra-cotta,  both  plain 
and  enamelled,  in  •colors. 

Brick  Industry — United  States. 

An  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  brick  industry  in  the 
United  States  may  be  obtained  from  the  statistics  collected 
for  the  last  census.  .According  to  the  reports,  there  are 
3,114  establishments  for  making  brick,  with  372  steam- 
engines,  aggregating  10,333  horse-power;  19  water-wheels, 
218  horse-power,  and  43,293  persons  employed.  Capital 
invested,  $20,504,238;  wages  paid,  $10,768,853;  materials 
used  valued  at  $7,413,097,  and  value  of  the  product  $29,- 
028,359. 

Massachusetts  has  107  establishments,  2,901  hands  em- 
ployed. Capital  invested,  $2,435,310;  value  of  materials 
used,  $978,508,  and  value  of  product,  $2,251,984.  Of  brick 
and  tilemakers  together,  26,070  are  reported;  and  the  total 
value  of  the  products,  $29,302,016,  against  $12,263,147  in 
1860. 


304  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Of  common  brick,  2,801,832,000  were  made,  and  37,- 
428,000  pressed  brick  and  60,072,000  fire-brick.  In 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  alone,  the  product  is  commonly- 
believed  to  exceed  one  hundred  millions  (100,000,000) 
annually. 

Terra-Cotta. 

In  the  industry  of  architectural  terra-cotta  we  have  a 
revival  of  a  most  ancient  art,  practised  by  the  Egyptians, 
Assyrians,  and  the  Chaldeans ;  ftimiliar  to  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  ;  and  not  unknown  in  Europe  in  the  middle  ages. 
Terra-cotta  enamelled  decorated  surfaces  in  colors  are  also 
ancient.  Beck  with  says  :  "  The  distinctive  feature  of  Baby- 
lonian architecture  is  the  profuse  employment  of  colored  dec- 
oration. The  temple  towers  of  the  Chaldeans  were  built  in 
many  stories,  faced  with  enamelled  bricks  of  colors  corres- 
ponding to  the  planets.  In  the  Temple  of  the  Moon  at 
Mughier,  bricks  or  tiles,  glazed  with  a  blue  enamel,  were 
fastened  externally  to  walls  of  burnt  brick.  The  domestic 
dwellings  of  the  Chaldeans  were  ornamented  externally  by- 
diapered  patterns  of  colored  bricks,  and  internally  with  col- 
ored cones  of  terra-cotta."  *  The  colors  used  in  ancient 
Egyptian  decoration  were  red,  yellow,  blue  and  green. 
Black  and  white  were  added. 

The  greatly  increased  use  of  terra-cotta  dates  from  the 
commencement  of  the  last  decade,  and  it  has  been  steadily 
finding  favor  with  architects  and  the  public.  When  prop- 
erly made  it  has  great  strength, — even  greater  than  many- 
kinds  of  stone  used  for  building, — and,  as  regards  durability, 
it  is  superior.  Mr.  Henry  Cole  says:  "It  is  more  durable 
than  even  ordinary  granite,  as  may  be  seen  on  the  lodge  in 
Merrion  Square,  Dublin,  which  was  built  about  178G.  The 
o;ranite  mouldinijs  there  are  cut  in  stone  from  the  Wicklow 
mountains ;  they  are  all  worn  away  and  rounded  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  rain,  while  Coade's  terra-cottas,  dated  1788,  are 
as  sharp  as  when  they  were  first  placed  on  this  lodge."  f 
Another  example  is  found  in  Sutton  House,  in  Surrey,  which 
is  covered  with  terra-cotta,  ornamented  about  the  year  1530 

*  Pottery,  Terra-Cotta,  Stoneware,  Fire-Brick,  etc.,  by  Arthur  Beckwith,  p.  86. 
t  Reports  on  the  Paris  Universal  Exhibition,  1867,  II.,  415. 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  305 

by  Torrigiano  or  his  pupils.  They  still  show  the  marks  of 
the  modelling  tool.  Terra-cotta,  like  bricks  and  tiles,  is 
practically  indestructible  by  ordinary  agencies,  and  this  qual- 
ity alone  should  commend  it  particularly  for  fine  ornaments, 
capitals,  bas-reliefs,  cornices,  window-caps,  etc.  It  is  ad- 
mirably adapted  for,  and  is  chiefly  used  in,  combination  with 
brick.  Examples  abound  in  the  chief  cities  of  Europe, 
notably  in  the  modern  public  buildings  of  London,  Berlin 
and  Vienna.  The  Koyal  Albert  Hall  and  the  South  Kensing- 
ton Museum  in  London  are  familiar.  It  is  now  largely  used 
in  Vienna  for  decoration,  especially  for  figures,  balustrades, 
consoles,  and  bas-reliefs  for  insertion  in  walls. 

The  industry  was  largely  represented  in  the  Paris  Exposi- 
tion of  1867,  in  the  London  International  Exhibition  of  1871, 
and  at  the  Exhibition  in  Vienna.  It  is  gratifying  that  the 
industry  is  already  firmly  established  in  the  United  States, 
and  that  it  bids  fair  to  assume  large  proportions,  particularly 
in  the  Western  States,  where  suitable  building  stone  cannot 
be  readily  and  cheaply  obtained. 

,  Terra-Cotta  at  Vienna. 

Vienna  Brick  and  Building  Company. — The  great  brick 
and  tile  company  of  Vienna — the  "  Wienerberger  Ziegel- 
fabriks  und  Baugesellschaft " — made  an  exhibition  worthy  of 
its  reputation  as  the  most  extensive  brick  and  terra-cotta 
manufacturing  concern  in  the  world.  It  erected  an  artistic 
triumphal  arch  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  space,  partly  en- 
closesd  by  the  art  buildings, — a  sort  of  gate-way  or  entrance 
to  the  Art  Department  from  the  east, — which  not  only  added 
to  the  fine  architectural  efiects  of  that  group  of  buildings,  but 
gave  the  company  the  opportunity  to  display  their  varied 
architectural  productions  to  the  best  advantage.  This  arch, 
high  and  broad  enough  for  a  carriage-way  and  transverse 
arched  portals,  was  constructed  wholly  of  the  red  and  drab 
bricks  made  by  the  company,  with  ornaments  of  terra-cotta, 
such  as  cornices,  mouldings,  statues,  bas-reliefs,  and  medal- 
lions,— some  plain,  others  enamelled  in  colors.  The  various 
forms  of  bricks  were  well  displayed  in  this  arch,  in  the  cor- 
nices, in  the  door-jambs  and  vaulted  roof,  the  bricks  being  so 
perfect  in  form  and  finish  that,  when  well  laid,  no  surface- 
39 


306  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

plastering  or  decoration  is  required.  The  joints  of  this  work 
were  made  with  great  care,  the  mortar  being  freely  used, 
but  uniform  in  tliickness  in  each  course,  and  rounded  over 
between  the  bricks.*  The  joints  are  striped  in  black,  con- 
trasting well  with  the  buff  color  of  the  bricks,  A  variety  of 
designs  was  introduced  in  the  entablatures  and  pilasters, 
chiefly  in  the  Rennaissance ;  those  on  one  side  being  plain 
red,  and  on  the  other  enamelled  in  colors.  Medallions  were 
inserted  in  the  facade,  and  terra-cotta  groups  of  figures 
adorned  the  top. 

Within  the  area  of  this  construction,  below,  there  was  room 
enough  for  the  exhibition,  on  tables  and  counters,  of  the 
various  articles  made  by  the  company.  Bricks,  of  all  the 
varieties  and  forms,  were  to  be  found  there :  some  plain, 
some  enamelled  white,  blue,  or  green ;  some  wedge-shaped, 
for  arches,  and  many  with  rounded,  curved,  and  moulded 
angles,  designed  for  the  ornamentation  of  window-openings, 
for  string-courses,  and  other  parts  of  buildings.  Here,  too, 
were  to  be  found  a  variety  of  decorative  objects  in  bold  re- 
lief, such  as  bas-reliefs,  slabs,  fillets,  parts  of  cornices  and 
medallions,  designed  for  insertion  in  the  facades  of  buildings, 
— the  same,  in  fact,  as  were  shown  in  their  proper  settings  in 
the  front  of  the  archway.  All  these  were  noteworthy  for 
their  boldness  and  elegance  of  design,  sharpness  of  relief  and 
brilliant  coloring,  fitting  them  for  decorative  purposes  high  up 
in  the  fronts  of  buildings.  The  company  also  exhibited  a 
variety  of  tiles  for  paving  and  for  roofing  purposes,  the  latter 
being  either  plain  or  glazed  in  a  variety  of  colors,  thus  facilitat- 
ing the  chromatic  decoration  of  roofs.  There  were  also  small 
hollow  bricks  with  glazed  faces.  A  majolica  wall-fountain  is 
worthy  of  mention,  and  was  purchased  by  the  Austrian  Art 
Museum  for  its  collection. 

A  large  part  of  this  collection — the  smaller  objects,  bricks, 
tiles,   fillets,   etc. — was    presented    by  the    company   to    the 

*  The  quantity  of  mortar  used  in  laying  bricks  varieB  in  difFerent  countries.  Much, 
of  course,  depends  upon  the  form  of  the  brick.  If  they  are  warped  or  curved ;  if,  as 
is  generally  the  case  even  with  pressed  brick,  the  corners  "  droop,"  the  thickness  of 
the  bedding  must  be  sufficient  to  permit  an  average  adjustment  in  the  course  to  a 
level  surface.  In  coarse  work  in  France  the  ratio  in  volume  of  the  joints  or  mortar 
to  the  whole  mass  of  masonry  is,  as  17  or  18  to  100.  But  in  finer  work,  where  a  bet- 
ter quality  of  mortar  or  plaster  is  used,  the  ratio  is  reduced  to  10  or  12  to  100. 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  307 

Uhitecl  States  Centennial  Commission  for  exhibition  in  1876, 
and  to  be  afterwards  deposited  in  the  Permanent  Museum. 

The  enamelled  plaques,  panels,  pilasters,  and  fillets  are 
beautiful.  In  the  fagade,  door-jambs  and  window-casings  of 
the  new  university  buildings  in  Vienna,  they  have  been  freely 
used,  with  fine  efl'ect. 

It  is  gratifying  to  note  this  modern  revival  of  the  ancient 
art,  kept  alive  in  the  sixteenth  century  by  the  genius  of  Luca 
della  Eobbia,  and  now  capable  of  almost  indefinite  expansion, 
since  the  knowledge  of  the  composition  of  colored  enamels  is 
no  longer  a  secret.  Of  the  beauty  of  such  enamelled  terra- 
cottas there  can  be  no  question,  and  their  durability  is  estab- 
lished by  experience.  Witness  the  ancient  enamels  of  As- 
syria and  Egypt,  as  well  as  the  works  of  della  Eobbia, 
preserved  in  collections.  The  South  Kensington  Museum 
has  more  than  fifty  examples-.  One  of  the  choicest  specimens 
is  the  medallion,  eleven  feet  in  diameter,  supposed  to  have 
been  made  in  the  year  1453.  It  bears  the  arms  of  King 
Rene  of  Anjou,  surrounded  by  a  massive  border  of  fruit  and 
foliage.  It  w^as  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  weather  for 
more  than  four  hundred  years,  fixed  in  the  front  wall  of  a 
villa  near  Florence.  Good  specimens  of  the  della  Robbia 
ware  are  to  be  found  also  in  the  Athenaeum  in  Boston,  and 
the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  in  New  York. 

The  terra-cotta  ware,  building  ornaments,  majolica,  etc., 
of  the  Vienna  Company  is  manufactured  in  a  separate  estab- 
lishment at  Inzersdorf.  The  clay  of  that  locality  produces  a 
ware  that  not  only  has  great  strength  and  resists  the  weather, 
but  has  a  pleasing  stone  color,  which  harmonizes  so  well  with 
the  usual  tone  of  the  buildings  that  the  figures  do  not  need 
coloring  or  painting. 

The  variety  of  the  figures  and  decorative  objects  is  very 
great.  The  sample-book  contains  242  pages  of  closely 
printed  lithographic  designs,  about  2,000  in  number.  The 
models,  of  which  the  company  has  a  great  number,  are  all 
made  from  drawings  by  the  most  eminent  architects,  and  are 
exquisite  in  design.  The  possession  of  such  a  stock  of  pat- 
terns insures,  practically,  a  monopoly  of  the  business.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  decorative  figures  seen  in  the  fagades 
of  the  splendid  buildings  adorning  the  Ring  Strasse  and  over 


308 


EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


the  arched  portals  is  from  this  establishment.     The  list  com- 
prises a  great  variety  of  brackets,  consoles,  capitals,  balnsters. 


medallions,  reclining  figures  over  arched 
openings,  bas-reliefs,  colossal  figures  of 
Apollo,  Venus,  Mmerva,  Flora,  Hebe, 
etc.*  A  few  illustrations  selected  from 
the  sample-book  are  here  introduced. 

The  figure  of  a  miner  in  the  established 
costume,  with  pickaxe  over  the  shoulder, 

*  Of  these  beautiful  figures,  Dr.  Barnard,  in  his  admirable  Report  on  the  Indus- 
trial Arts  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867,  observes,  p.  359 :  "  Mr.  Drasche  exhibited 
one  of  the  most  attractive  collections  of  bas-reliefs  statues,  vases,  architectural  and 
other  ornaments  In  the  Exposition,  all  of  them  formed  in  terra-cotta.  His  display 
was  as  remarkable  for  the  great  number  of  beautiful  objects  which  it  contained  as  for 
the  taste  with  which  they  had  been  designed.  They  were  bought  up  by  visitors  with 
eageraess,  and  only  a  few  weeks  had  elapsed  after  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  be- 
fore nearly  every  oljject  in  the  whole  collection  bore  the  mark,  which  in  all  quarters 
grew  more  and  more  familiar  every  day,  '  sold.'  All  these  beautiful  productions 
were  baked  in  the  Hoffmann  furnaces  of  Mr.  Drasche's  establishment." 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC. 


309 


lamp  in  hand,  and  the  leather  apron  behmd.     This  is  made 
of  two  sizes  :  the  smaller  being  one  foot  two  inches  highj 


the  other  three  feet  six 
inches,  and  both  suitable 
as  ornaments  in  mining- 
schools,  museums  and  res- 
idences. There  are  also 
figures  in  similar  style 
typical  of  agriculture  and 
forestry. 

Suits  of  armor,  in  a  dozen  or  more  difierent  styles,  are 
produced  for  the  exterior  decoration  of  the  gateways  of 
castles  or  vestibules  and  halls  in  the  interior.  Being  prac- 
tically indestructible  by  the  weather,  they  can  be  freely 
exposed.  It  would  be  easy,  if  desired,  to  cover  such 
groups  for  interior  decoration  with  metallic  paints  or  bronze- 
powders,  in  imitation  of  steel  or  iron. 


310 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


The  arched  entrances  to  the  Vienna  buildings,  leading  into 
the  interior  courts,  aftbrd  suitable  places  on  either  side,  in 

^  niches,    for    groups    of 

i^%5^:^  statuary.  These  are 
supplied  in  part  by  this 
establishment.  A  draw- 
ing of  one  out  of  an 
inimitable  group  of  four 
pieces  is  here  given. 
They  represent  com- 
merce and  manufac- 
tures, gardening  and 
agriculture,  science  and 
art,  hunting  and  fish- 
ino:.  The  height  of 
each  piece  is  three  feet 
five  inches ;  breadth, 
two  feet  five  inches ; 
and  depth,  one  foot  four 
inches. 

The  terra-cotta  productions  of  this  establishment  are  to 
be  seen  not  only  in  the  principal  public  buildings  and  pal- 
aces of  Vienna,  but  abound  in  Prague,  Pesth,  in  Athens, 
Smyrna  and  Bucharest.  They  are  exported  to  Germany, 
Switzerland,  Italy,  Russia,  Turkey,  Asia  and  America. 

In  this  branch  of  their  business  the  company  employ 
three  hundred  and  fifty  workmen,  and  four  large  burning 
ovens  twenty-two  feet  in  diameter  for  the  large  pieces  of 
terra-cotta  ware,  besides  smaller  ovens  and  mufiies  for 
burning-in  the  colors  of  the  majolica  ware. 

The  company  have  two  extensive  depots  for  their  goods 
in  Vienna,  besides  a  stock  of  samples  for  exhibition  in  the 
lower  story  of  the  engineer's  and  architect's  building. 
The  transportation  from  the  works  is  by  railways,  canals, 
and  common  roads.  There  are  also  local  tramways,  upon 
which  horses  are  used.  There  are  about  nine  hundred 
horses  belonging  to  the  company. 


terra-cotta,  brick,  etc.  311 

Vienna  Brick  Manufacture. 

The  nature  of  the  brick  made  by  the  company  has 
already  been  explained  in  part,  in  describing  their  remark- 
able exhibition.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  they  make 
almost  every  standard  form  of  brick,  for  corners,  cornices 
and  arches,  similar  to  those  made  by  the  Rennberg  Works 
in  Berlin,  of  which  a  full  suite  of  figures  is  given  beyond. 
The  glazed  and  enamelled  bricks  appear  well,  and  will,  no 
doubt,  be  largely  used  in  exterior  and  interior  decoration ; 
and,  also,  for  walls  of  dairies,  kitchens,  stables,  and  simi- 
lar places,  the  walls  of  which  require  washing. 

The  manufacture  of  bricks  and  tiles  in  the  Vienna  valley 
undoubtedly  dates  from  the  occupation  by  the  Romans, 
seventy  years  after  Christ.  Excavations  in  the  old  city 
bring  to  light  quantities  of  bricks,  of  various  sizes  and 
forms,  and  among  them  those  of  Roman  make,  bearing  the 
date  of  xiii.  (gemini)  and  x.  (jjvo  fidelis)  Legions.  The 
collections  of  antiquities  at  Vienna  contain  many  of  these 
bricks  remarkable  for  their  perfect  preservation,  every  angle 
and  line  being  as  sharp  as  when  they  were  taken  from  the 
kiln.*  They  are  generally  thin  compared  with  their 
breadth,  and  are  of  large  size  and  red  color. 

The  excellent  quality  of  the  bricks  made  by  this  company 
is  sufiiciently  attested  by  the  large  constructions  in  which 
they  have  been  used,  and  without  change  after  long  expo- 
sure. Ii>  1851,  20,000,000  bricks  were  furnished  under  con- 
tract to  the  Semmering  tunnels  for  the  railway,  and  another 
contract  for  40,000,000  for  the  public  works  at  Vienna  was 
being  filled  at  the  same  time.  The  following  named  well- 
known  edifices  are  constructed  of  these  bricks^  The  Impe- 
rial and  Royal  Arsenals  (very  large  structures,  wholly  of 
red  brick)-,  the  Greek  Church,  Synagogue,  Protestant 
School,  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  new  University, 
and  the  Austrian  Museum  of  Art  and  Industry. 

*  The  most  interesting  of  these  collections  is  perhaps  that  in  the  fourth  cabinet  of 
the  Q.  &  R.  Medals  and  Antiquities,  Petit-Belvedere.  The  gi-eater  portion  of  these 
bricks  were  found  at  Vienna  and  at  Petronell.  Some  of  them  bear  the  mark 
VINDOB  (onffi)  and  KAR  (nuntum).  In  this  collection  there  are  two  tile-like 
bricks  from  Bagdad,  impressed  Avith  cuneform  characters  of  the  time  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, seventh  century  B.  C.    Size,  12  by  13  by  3  inches. 


312 


EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 


The  clay  is  found  in  inexhaustible  quantities  stratified  in 
beds  of  the  tertiary  epoch,  ranging  from  five  to  sixty  feet 
in  thickness.  Some  of  these  beds  contain  fine  silicious 
sand,,  and  others  a  small  portion  of  lime.  Some  give 
light  yellow,  or  cream-stone-colored  bricks,  and  others 
red  colored. 

The  usual  size  of  the  Vienna  brick  is  11  inches  long,  5|- 
broad,  2-^  thick,  ::=  290  X  140  X  65  millimetres,  being  oonsid- 
erably  larger  than  ours. 

The  strength  of  these  bricks  has  been  carefully  ascer- 
tained by  a  series  of  experiments  conducted  by  Professor 
Eebhau  of  the  Polytechnic  Institute,  Vienna,  and  by  Prof. 
J.  Bauschinger  of  the  Mechanical-technical  Laboratory  in 
Munich. 


Resistance  of  Vienna  Brick  to  breaking  strain. 

[Experiments  by  Professor  F.  Rebhau.] 


DESCKIPTION  OF  THE  BRICKS. 


Breaking  with 
a  load  of  zoU 
(inch)  pounds. 


COEFnCIENT  OF  RESISTANCE. 


Kilos  per  one 
square  c.  m. 


ZoU  (inch) 

pounds  per  one 

square  inch. 


Common, 

Common  arch  brick,    .... 

Ordinary  wall  brick,    .... 

Red  brick, 

Yellow, 

Machine  made, 

Machine    made,    hollow,    with    two 
holes,         .        .        .        .        . 

Machine    made,   hollow,   with   three 
holes, 

Hollow    machine    made    arch    brick 
with  sixteen  holes,    .... 


1,419 

2,417 
2,255 
1,711 
2,875 
1,662 

1,785 

1,812 

1,307 


42 
62 
65 
60 
84 
49 

54 

84 

39 


603 
737 
925 
708 
1,187 
692 

766 

1,194 

664 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC. 


313 


Tabular  statement  of  the  resistance  to  crushing  of  the  bricks  made  by 
the  Vienna  Company. 

[Experiments  made  by  Professor  J.  Bauschinger.] 


Strength  in— 

Crushing  load 
per  briclt  in 

Name  of  the  LocAiiTr  and  Description 

OF  THE   BkICKS. 

tons   of  1,000 

Kilos  per 

Zoll  (inch) 
pounds  per  one 

Kilos. 

square  c.  m. 

square  inch. 

Wienerberg. 

a.  Ordinary  hand-struck, 

77.5 

188 

2,613 

b.  Ordinary  machine,  . 

100.0 

230 

3,197 

c.  Ordinary  wall  brick. 

77.0 

183 

2,544 

d.  Yellow  wall  brick,  . 

80.0 

205 

2,850 

e.  Yellow  machine  wall  brick. 

100.0 

230 

3,197 

/.  Red  wall  brick, 

81.0 

200 

2,780 

g.  Red, ..... 

85.0 

195 

2,711 

h.  Ordinary  arch  brick. 

48.0 

125 

1,738 

i.   Porous  arch  bi'ick,    . 

100 

27 

375 

k.  Machine  brick  with  three  holes, 

19.5 

50 

695 

I.  Machine  arch  brick  with  three  holes. 

5.5 

19 

264 

m.  Clinker, 

63.0 

240 

3,336 

Vosendorf. 

Ordinary  hand-struck,  .... 

74.5 

180 

2,502 

Leopoldsdorf. 

Ordinary  hand-struck,  .        .        .      '  . 

71.0 

175 

2,433 

Laaerberg  I. 

Ordinary  hand-struck,  .... 

96.0 

236 

4,281 

Laaerberg  11. 

Ordinary  hand-struck,  .... 

76.5 

196 

2,725 

Laaerwald. 

Ordinary  hand-struck, .... 

64.0 

158 

2,196 

Ountramsdorf. 

Ordinary  hand-struck,  .... 

65.0 

162 

2,252 

Biedermannsdorf. 

Ordinary  hand-struck,  .... 

78.0 

200 

2,780 

Eernals. 

Ordinary  hand-struck,  .... 

62.0 

158 

2,196 

Ordinary  machine. 

90.0 

205 

2,850 

The  company  published,  in  connection  with  their  costly- 
exhibition,  a  descriptive  pamphlet,  giving  a  short  historical 
resum^  of  the  brick  and   tile  manufacture  in  Vienna,  the 

40 


314  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

origin  of  the  company,  and  the  extent  of  its  operutions.* 
It  is  illustrated  by  maps  and  sections,  and  is  altogether  a 
most  commendable  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  industry 
in  Vienna,  and  worthy  of  imitation  by  all  wealthy  corpora- 
tions when,  as  in  duty  bound,  they  participate  in  great  inter- 
national exhibitions. 

The  great^ Vienna  brick  and  tile  company,  as  now  orga- 
nized, is  based  upon  the  union  of  several  extensive  establish- 
ments, dating  back  to  the  time  of  Maria  Theresa,  and  before 
it,  and  conducted  in  succession  by  Miesbach  and  by  Drasche. 
In  1851  the  works  of  the  Wiener-berg  occupied  an  area  of 
264|  English  acres,  while  an  area  of  680  English  acres  sup- 
plied the  clay.  There  were  24,930  feet  in  length  of  drying 
sheds  for  the  manufacture  of  ordinary  bricks,  and  8,304  feet 
of  moulding  sheds  for  tiles,  facing  and  ornamental  bricks, 
with  43  kilns,  calculated  to  burn  45,000  to  110,000  bricks  per 
kiln,  or  3,500,000  at  one  time.  Six  establishments  at  that 
time  had  a  united  production  of  91,900,000  bricks  annually; 
the  Wiener-berg  alone  producing  65,500,000.  There  were 
649  moulding  benches,  and  4,140  persons  employed. 

The  present  organization  was  effected  in  March,  1869, 
under  a  nominal  capital  of  7,000,000  florins  (equal  to 
3,500,000  dollars),  in  35,000  shares,  at  200  florins  each. 
Between  6,000  and  7,000  workmen  are  employed,  besides  58 
officers,  36  machinists  and  foremen.  There  are  eight  large 
establishments,  where  the  bricks  and  tiles  are  made,  viz.  : — 

1.  Inzersdorf  Wienerberger,  the  largest  of  all,  in  six  sec- 
tions ;  2.  Hernals ;  3.  Laaerberge  ;  4.  Laaerwald ;  5.  Leo- 
poldsdorf;  6.  Biedermansdorf ;  7.  Guntramsdorf ;  8.  Vosen- 
dorf,— all  in  the  vicinity  of  Vienna.  The  total  area  devoted 
to  the  manufacture  is  882  joch,  65  square  klafters,  equivalent 
to  about  1,254  acres.  The  amjual  production  of  the  works 
is  enormous.  In  the  four  years  from  the  organization  of  the 
company  to  the  end  of  1872  the  production  and  sale  were  as 
follows  :■ — 

*  Die  Wienerberger,  Ziegelfabriks  unci  Bau-Gesellschaft  zur  zeit  der  Wiener 
Weltausstellung,  1873.  Wicn,  1873.  Sclbstverlag  der  gesellschaft,  Centralbureau : 
Wien  1 ;  Elisabetlistrasse  6.    8vo.,  p.  92,  with  maps  and  graphic  chart. 


TEERA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC. 


315 


Annual  Production,  Vienna  Brick  and  Tile  Works. 


Production — pieces. 


Sold— pieces. 


1869, 
1870, 
1871, 

1872, 


134,674,930 
149,457,000 
147,549,375 
166,849,000 


122,117,000 
118,512,000' 
167,418,328 
164,313,466 


The  production  can  easily  be  carried  to  200,000,000  of 
bricks  annually.  These  great  results  are  accomplished  by 
the  use  of  labor-saving  machinery  and  furnaces  continuously 
working,  on  Hoffmann's  system,  33  of  which  are  in  use. 
Over  one  and  one-third  million  hundred-weight  of  different 
kinds  of  brown  coal  and  of  coke  are  consumed  yearly. 

The  receipts,  expenditures,  and  profits  are  no  less  remark- 
able than  the  production,  and  are  as  follows  : — 

Profits  for  four  years,  in  Austrian  florins. 


TEAK. 

Receipts. 

Expenditures. 

Balance— profits. 

1869,  .... 

1870,  .... 

1871,  .... 

1872,  .... 

2,946,548.15 
3,608,467.87 
4,199,500.32 
5,256,335.85 

■     1,917,914.22 
2,558,795.61 
2,769,657.84 
3,119,327.90 

1,028,633.93 
1,049,672.26 
1,429,812.48 
2,137,007.95 

The  company  divided  per  share  in — 

1869,  florins  15,  corresponding  to  annual  interest  of  15    per  ct. 

1870,  "      15,  "  "  "  121  per  ct. 

1871,  "      20,  "  "  "  16fperct. 

1872,  "      30,  "  "  "  25    per  ct. 

In  addition,  there  were  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  reserve 
funds,  in — 


1869, 
1870, 
1871, 
1872, 


76,870.98  florins. 

90,572.34  " 
141,153.67  " 
259,358.34       " 


316  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

The  projectors  and  managers  of  this  great  enterprise  have 
given  special  attention  to  the  well-being  of  their  employes. 
They  have  organized  a  pension  system,  hospitals,  schools, 
and  a  kindergarten,  concerning  each  of  which,  full  details, 
with  sanitary  statistics,  are  given  in  the  publication  before 
mentioned  as  accompanying  their  exhibition,  and  presented 
to  the  international  jury. 

The  establishment,  before  and  since  the  organization  of  the 
company,  has  been  honored  by  the  following  prizes  or 
awards  :  At  the  Industrial  Exhibition,  Vienna,  1845,  and  at 
Pesth,  Hungary,  in  1846,  the  great  gold  medal;  at  the  Lon- 
don Exhibition,  1851,  the  large  gold  medal;  at  Amsterdam, 
1853,  the  great  silver  medal;  at  Munich,  1854,  and  at  Paris, 
1855,  the  large  medal;  so,  also,  the  large  medal  at  the  Ex- 
hibition of  the  Gartenbau-Gesellschaft,  in  Vienna,  1858-1859  ; 
the  o;reat  gold  medal  at  the  International  Exhibition  at  Lon- 
don  in  1862,  and  at  Paris  in  1867  ;  the  great  prize  medal  at 
the  International  Agricultural  Exhibition,  Vienna,  1866  ;  the 
large  medal  of  the  Agricultural  Exhibition,  Modling,  1871. 

Dithmee's  Brick  and  Clay  Ware  Company. 

The  Actien  Gesellschaft  der  Dithmerschen  Ziegel 
UND  Thonwaaren  Fabrik,  in  Rennherg,  Schlesivig-Holstein^ 
German  Kingdom,  made  one  of  the  best  exhibitions  of  plain 
and  ornamental  bricks  and  terra-cotta  ornaments,  particularly 
of  cornice,  coping,  moulding  and  arch  brick,  for  corners  of 
buildings  and  door  and  window  openings.  There  were  also 
terra-cotta  columns,  capitals,  pedestals  and  urns. 

This  establishment  dates  from  1782,  and  in  1871  produced 
65,000  thalers'  worth  of  bricks  and  ornaments,  using  21,550 
thalers  in  value  of  raw  materials.  There  are  four  establish- 
ments, with  228  workmen  and  three  steam-engines. 

There  are  three  standard  colors — yellow,  red  and  gray — in 
which  the  various  articles  are  made,  but  they  are  also  enam- 
elled or  glazed,  in  almost  any  desired  color;  but  browns, 
greens,  yellow  and  lilac  are  the  most  common.  All  the 
glazed  bricks  shown  were  perfect  in  form,  with  an  even  coat- 
ing of  color,  and  seemed  particularly  well  adapted  for  decora- 
tive purposes  and  for  walls  where  a  clean,  smooth  surface, 
capable  of  being  Avashed  indefinitely,  is  desired. 


TEERA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC. 


317 


The  fine  exhibition  of  "  shape-bricks,"  in  great  variety, 
merits  special  notice.  The  drawings  appended  render  de- 
scription snperfiuons.  They  are  from  originals  furnished  by 
the  company.  Architects  and  those  interested  in  construc- 
tion will  see  at  a  glance  what  possibilities  in  decorative  con- 
struction such  bricks  afford.  They  are  of  great  importance, 
economically  considered,  in  forming  angles  and  corners,  and 
should  be  extensively  used  in  the  United  States,  where  at- 
tempts at  such  manufacture  are  few  and  far  between.  The 
use  of  such  forms  in  our  public  buildings,  railway  stations, 
etc.,  with  or  without  terra-cotta  slabs  and  ornaments,  could 
not  fail  to  powerfully  influence  public  taste,  thus  impercept- 
ibly but  surely  promoting  art-culture  among  the  people. 

The  hoUow-tongued  and  grooved  wall  or  casing  brick 
(Fig.  59)  would  make  a  light  wall  of  great  strength,  and 
is  probably  well  adapted  to  partitions. 

All  of  these  drawings  have  been  reduced  to  one-twentieth, 
but  the  little  scale  reduced  equally  with  them  will  indicate 
the  sizes  : — 


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318 


EXPOStTION   AT    VIENNA. 


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^^    ^^   ^^    ^^ 


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Berlin — Dithmer's  Terra-Cotta. 
The  beautiful  specimens  of  terra-cotta  by  this   exhibitor 
also  merit  more  than  a  passing  mention.     The  illustrations 


m 


E3S3 


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sSim 


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pf 


presented    are   better   than   any  description,   and   suffice   to 
show  the  high  artistic  character  of  the  designs. 


TERKA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC. 


319 


The  following  drawings  show  the  forms  in  which  the 
company  manufacture  paving  tiles  of  excellent  quality,  far 
better  than  the  ordinary  paving  brick  in  common  use  in  the 
United  States,  for  want  of  forms  better  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose. 


EiNGOFEN-ZiEGELEi  DER  Stadtgemeinde,  Troppau.  This 
establishment  exhibited  in  the  Austrian  court  a  series  of 
remarkably  smooth  and  well-formed  pressed  red  brick,  and 
square  slabs,  and  paving  tiles.  The  latter  were  both  yellow 
and  red,  in  hexagons,  about  eight  inches  across ;  and  in 
rhombs,  same  size,  and  two  and  a  half  inches  thick.  A 
fine  eflect  is  produced  by  laying  the  two  colors  alternately. 
The  large  slabs  were  twelve  inches  square  and  three  inches 
thick.  A  variety  of  angle  and  cornice  bricks  were  also 
shown.  The  ordinary  brick  shown  measured  about  llfX 
6x3  inches,  or  say  12x6x3  inches. 


Perforated  Brick — England. 
George  Jennings   Poole,  Dorset,  England,  exhibited  a 
variety  of  perforated  bricks,  red  and  of  a  light  gray  color, 

about  9x3x2  inches, 
and  some  square  slabs  9 
inches  each  way  and  2 
inches  thick.  The  open- 
ings are  numerous  and 
ornamental,  as  shown  in 
the  annexed  cuts,  and  ex- 
tend through  the  brick  from  side  to  side.  These  bricks 
are  evidently  made  in  machines  similar  to  those  nsed  for 
drain  tiles.  They 
are  very  light,  re- 
quire much  less 
material  than  solid 
brick,    and   appear 


320  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

to    be    strong.      Some    perforated   curved   bricks    like    the 
figure,   16x4x2  inches,  were  also   in   the  collection. 

Curved  channel  tiles 
for  open  drains  or 
gutters,  by  the  same 
exhibitor,  merit  at- 
tention. These  are 
made  in  three  parts, 
fitted  together  longi- 
tudinally, and  are  of 
several  sizes,  all  of 
them  with  large  open- 
ings in  the  body,  ejQfecting  a  great 
savins^    of   material    and    ofivino:    liffht- 

O  (SCO 

ness  and  strength.  <^^ 

Dovetailed  Bricks  . — France . 

Mr.  E.  Pavy,  of  Chateau  du  Olaveau,  near  Mezieres-en- 
Bi'enne  (Indre),  France,  exhibited  a  novel  invention,  for 
which  he  has  taken  out  a  patent  in  France,  consisting  of 
bricks  formed  with  dovetailed  recesses  in  each  end,  so  that 
two  bricks  may  be  locked  together  by  a  third  piece  which  fits 
into  the  two  opposite  openings. 

The  dimensions  of  the  ordinary  bricks  are  stated  as 
Q'^-25xO«'-12xO'"-06,  which  is  about  9fx4|x2|  inches. 
The  locking-piece  or  dovetail  is  about  five  inches  long. 

The  inventor  claims  for  these  bricks  that  they  permit  of  the 
rapid  construction  of  walls  of  a  single  course  having  not  only 
lightness  but  great  strength  ;  or  of  thick  walls,  of  two  courses 
of  the  brick,  with  an  air-space  between,  giving  greater 
strength  than  is  obtained  in  ordinary  constructions  using  two 
or  three  times  as  much  material,  and  consequently  requiring 
more  carting,  more  time,  labor  and  expense.  The  circular 
brick  are  designed  for  round  towers  and  chimneys,  and  ap- 
pear to  be  favored  by  the  exhibitor  as  an  attractive  mode  of 
finishing  the  corners  of  constructions,  an  ideal  house  being 
figured  by  him  with  a  round  toM'er  at  each  corner. 

Window  frames  of  oak,  or  iron,  are  made  with  a  dove- 
tailed recess  in  the  sides,  into  which  the  small  locking-piece 
is   fitted,    thereby   forming   a   tight  joint    and   holding   the 


TEERA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  321 

frame  firmly  in  its  place.  For  rectangular  buildings,  with- 
out towers  at  the  corners,  angle  bricks  are  specially  "made. 

The  inventor  claims  that  the  circular  brick  are  especially 
valuable  for  towers,  tall  chimnneys,  light-houses,  reservoirs 
for  strain  and  for  water  conduits,  cisterns,  tubs  for  distill- 
ers,  dyers,  etc.  Some  of  these  claims  seem  fanciful  aud 
not  duly  sustained  by  experience,  being  apparently  sugges- 
tions. For  example,  a  tall  cistern  is  represented,  built  to 
hold  five  metres  in  depth  of  water,  and  warranted  to  resist 
the  pressure.  The  walls  are  double  and  connected  at  inter- 
vals with  tie-bricks,  leaving  an  air-space  between.  The 
bottom  is  to  be  of  sheet  iron  "  three  to  five  millimetres  "  in 
thickness,  with  the  edges  turned  up  so  as  to  hold  the  lower 
course  of  bricks  and  to  prevent  the  iron  from  drawing  in  by 
sagging. 

It  is  proposed  to  make  roofs  and  arches  of  these  brick, 
each  brick  with  six  dovetail  joints,  and  0°'*320  by  0°''190 
by  0™.060.  These,  it  is  stated,  can  be  laid  for  seven 
francs  the  square  metre,  including  the  cement  and  fifteen 
bricks  at  twenty  centimes  each.  The  average  price  is 
about  seventy-five  francs  the  thousand  for  bricks,  twenty- 
five  centimetres  by  twelve  centimetres  by  six  centimetres. 
The  mean  price  per  square  metre  of  wall  built  of  a  single 
thickness  of  brick  0™.14  thick,  is  stated  to  be  nine  francs 
seventy-five  centimes ;  and  of  a  square  metre  of  double  wall 
with  bricks  0°'.075  broad,  fourteen  francs. 

There  was  no  opportunity  of  verifying  any  of  these  state- 
ments, and  no  references  were  made  to  any  constructions 
made  in  this  manner. 

Terra-Cotta  from  India. 
The  Madras  School  of  Art  sent  forty-two  terra-cotta  casts 
of  Hindoo  temple  ornamentation,  consisting  of  ornamental 
pillars,  scrolls,  running  and  border  ornaments,  perforated 
panels,  circular  and  star  patterns,  all  of  great  interest  to 
art,  and,  at  the  same  time,  good  examples  of  the  ease  of 
reproducing  architectural  designs  and  details  in  terra-cotta. 

Chicago  Terra-Cotta  Company,  Chicago.  This  estab- 
lishment has,  for  the  past  eight  years,  been  engaged  in  the 

41 


322 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


manufacture  of  terra-cotta  building  ornaments,  vases,  ped- 
estals, statuary,  etc.  The  market  for  the  architectural 
pieces  is  very  large,  they  being  used  in  the  erection  of 
public  and  private  buildings  all  over  the  West.  They  are 
sent  as  far  south  as  Texas,  west  to  Salt  Lake,  and  as  far 
north  as  the  railways  extend.  The  demand  is  constantly 
increasing  and  with  every  prospect  of  its  continuing  to 
increase,  for  in  many  parts  of  the  West  stone  is  very  scarce, 


^ 


and  it  is  too  costly  to  transport  it  great  distances.  The 
terra-cotta  ware  being  hollow  and  light,  bears  the  cost  of 
transportation  to  almost  any  required  distance.  Again, 
where  stone  is  found  it  costs  more  to  work  it  than  to  pay 
the  cost  and  transportation  of  the  terra-cotta.  It  has 
become,  to  a  great  extent,  a  building  necessity.  In  Chi- 
cago there  are  miles  in  length  of  fronts  ornamented  with 
the  terra-cotta  work  of  this  establishment.  Durins^  the 
summer  of  1873,  about  $40,000  worth  of  trimmings  were 
furnished  to  the  new  Illinois  State  House,  in  Springfield, 
consisting  chiefly  of  dormer  windows,  balustrades,  and  open 
tracery  work.  The  above  illustrations  show  some  of  the 
styles  of  window-frames.  Much  of  the  work  in  Chicago 
and  the  larger  cities  is  produced  from  designs  furnished 
by  architects,  and  specially  adapted  to  some  particular 
building,    but   the    company  has  a  large   stock   of  moulds 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  323 

from  which  it  is  not  difficult  to  select  objects  suitable  for 
most  of  the  smaller  constructions,  thereby  saving  a  considera- 
ble item  of  cost  for  new  patterns.  The  superintendent  of 
the  works  (Mr.  Taylor)  was  formerly  employed  in  the  works 
of  Mr.  Blashfield,  Stamford,  England.  This  establishment 
exhibited  largely,  and  with  great  credit,  at  the  Paris  Expo- 
sition in  1867,  and  is  making  the  ornaments  for  the  Art 
Museum  now  building  in  Boston. 

Refractory  Bricks,  Retorts,  Crucibles,  etc. 

In  refractory  materials  of  all  kinds,  for  construction  of  fur- 
naces and  various  metallurgical  purposes,  the  Exhibition  was 
particularly  rich.  The  amount  and  variety  of  such  goods 
were  far  greater  than  at  Paris  in  1867,  and  there  was  a 
notable  advance  in  the  art,  especially  in  the  production  of 
special  forms  of  large  dimensions,  and  the  increasing  use  of 
them  in  the  construction  of  furnaces.  Attention  may  be 
directed  to  the  exhibits  of  fire-brick  for  the  hearths  and 
crucibles  of  blast-furnaces  and  for  the  stack  complete,  which 
are  now  being  made  at  several  establishments  at  very  moder- 
ate prices.  The  formation  of  tubes  and  retorts  of  superior 
density  and  strength,  by  hydraulic  pressure,  is  also  worthy 
of  attention. 

H.  J.  Vygen  &  Co.,  Duisburg,  JRliein-prov .  DeuiscJies^ 
Meiches,  exhibited  fire-brick  and  blocks  for  blast-furnaces, 
cast-steel  melting  furnaces,  reheating  furnaces, 
gas-retorts,  and  for  smelting  purposes  generally. 
The  plumbago-pots  for  cast-steel  from  this  estab- 
lishment are  formed  as  in  the  annexed  outline, 
and  stand  about  two  feet  high. 

These   works   were   founded   in    1856.      The 
value  of  their  products  in  1871  was  200,000  tha- 
lers  for  360,000  cwt.  of  goods,  being  the  heaviest 
production  of  large  pieces  in  Germany.     There  are  266  work- 
men employed,  and  3  steam-engines  of  130  horse-power. 

C.  KuLMiz,  Marienliiltte. — Fire-bricks  and  fire-clay,  gas- 
retorts  and  drain-tiles  were  exhibited  by  this  firm.  The 
value  of  their  products  in  1871  was  150,000  thalers,  and,  in 


324  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

addition,  they  raised  370,000  cwt.  of  fire-clay.  Employ  345 
workmen  and  4  steam-engines. 

Steinberger  Gewerkschaft,  Grossahnerode  hei  Cassel, 
Deutsches,  Reiches^  exhibited  fire-brick  and  slabs  for  blast- 
furnaces. The  production  of  this  company  in  1871  was 
35,000  cwt.  of  clay  and  54,000  cwt.  of  fire-brick,  worth 
30,500  thalers.  One  hundred  and  thirty-one  workmen,  and 
two  steam-engines.  The  samples  of  tuyeres  for  Bessemer 
converters  appeared  to  be  excellent  in  quality.  The  largest, 
with  nine  holes,  were  20  inches  long  and  5  inches  in  diameter 
at  the  small  end. 

Smal-Smal  &  Co.,  a  Andennes  (province  de  JSFamur), 
Belgium,  exhibited  fire-brick  and  flags  for  the  hearths  and 
crucibles  of  blast-furnaces  and  for  a  furnace  complete ;  also, 
bricks  specially  adapted  to  the  needs  of  steel-works,  glass- 
works, and  zinc- works.  The  blast-furnace  brick  were 
specially  interesting,  and  they  are  supplied  at  the  following 
rates  per  ton  (1,000  kilogrammes),  loaded  upon  cars  at 
Andennes  : — 

Bricks  for  the  hearth  and  crucible,  75  francs. 

"  "        boshes,     .         .         65     " 

"  "        interior  lining,  .         55     " 

"  •'         outer  casing,     .  50     " 

"  "        a  furnace  complete,    65     " 

Slabs  or  tiles,  for  the  bottoms  of  soda-furnaces,  are  supplied 
at  80  francs,  and  other  fire-brick,  for  steel-works,  glass- 
works, puddling  furnaces,  etc.,  at  40  francs  the  ton  (about 
$8  gold) .  Crude  and  calcined  clay,  for  the  use  of  glass  and 
zinc  works,  is  sold  at  from  14  to  28  francs  the  ton. 

SociETE  Anonyme  des  Terres  Plastiques  et  Produits 
"Refr  ACT  AIRES,  d' Andennes,  lez-JSTamur.  Directeur  gerant: 
M.  Francois  Bertrand. — This  establishment  made  an  ex- 
tensive display  of  retorts,  cylinders,  and  of  bricks  for  con- 
densation chimneys  for  acid  works ;  bricks  for  Siemen's  fur- 
naces, Bessemer  converters  and  high  furnaces.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  short  description  of  some  of  the  principal  objects, 
with  the  prices  per  piece,  or  per  ton  : — 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  325 

Retort,  3™12  long  X  0.66  X  0.40,  weighing  810  kilog.= 
1,620  lbs.  ;  price,  100  francs  =  $20.  Eetort,  2'^-75  X  0.545 
X 0.315,  weighing  560  kilog.  =  1,120  lbs.  ;  price,  70  francs. 
Refractory  bricks,  for  the  crucible  and  boshes  of  blast-fur- 
naces;  price,  65  francs  per  1,000  kilos  =  per  ton.  Bricks 
for  rolling  mills,  Siemen's  furnaces,  Bessemer  steel-works, 
coke-ovens,  etc.,  at  35  francs  per  1,000  kilos.  =  about  |7  per 
ton.  Bricks — "artificial  sandstone  " — for  chimneys  and  tow- 
ers for  the  condensation  of  acids,  at  50  francs  per  1,000  kilos. 
Cascade  denitrante,  in  artificial  sandstone,  at  130  francs  per 
piece.  Cylinder,  in  artificial  sandstone,  with  bottom,  1™05 
high  X  I'^OO  in  diameter,  for  condensing  acids,  at  85  francs 
per  piece.  Cylinder,  in  artificial  sandstone,  without  bottom, 
1™00  X  l^'OO  in  diameter,  for  condensing  acids,  at  65  francs 
each. 

This  company  also  make  a  specialty  of  supplying  furnaces 
and  metallurgical  establishments  with  refractory  materials  of 
the  best  quality,  at  the  following  rates  :  For  glass-works' 
pots,  crucibles,  etc.,  15  and  18  francs  per  1,000  kilogs. 
Calcined  earths  for  crucibles,  at  28  to  35  francs.  Calcined 
quartz,  at  20  francs  per  1,000  kilogs. 

The  establishment  was  founded  in  1856,  and  it  has  received 
awards  at  several  of  the  great  exhibitions. 

TONGUED   AND    GROOVED   FiRE-BrICK. 

A  novelty,  in  the  form  of  tongued  and 
grooved  fire-brick,  was  seen,  but  the  ex- 
hibitor's name  was  not  obtained.  The 
annexed  outline  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
form. 

Retorts  for  the  Distillation  of  Zinc. 
N.  J.  Dor,  Director  of  the  mines  and  loorhs  of  M.  L.  de 
Lamine,  a  Ampsin  pres  Huy  (province  de  Liege),  exhibited 
improved  crucibles  for  the  distillation  of  zinc,  made  under 
hydraulic  pressure,  in  a  machine  specially  designed  for  the 
purpose,  invented  by  the  exhibitor.  This  machine  has  been 
in  operation  for  five  years  at  the  works  of  M.  de  Lamine,  and 
similar  machines  are  used  at  Vielle-Montag^ne  and  other  es- 
tablishments.     The  crucibles  made  in  this  manner  are  remark- 


326  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

able  for  their  superior  density,  compactness,  freedom  from 
flaws,  and  their  cheapness, — the  machine  effecting  a  great 
saving  over  hand-labor.  The  appearance  of  the  crucibles 
justifies  these  claims  for  excellence.  The  details  of  the  ma- 
chinery, as  shown  by  working-drawings,  were  highly  interest- 
ing, and  are  suggestive  of  much  that  may  be  accomplished 
in  the  art  of  forming  clay  ware  by  the  use  of  hydraulic 
power. 

Fiee-Beicks  and  Clay — England. 

An  interesting  report  on  the  fire-clay  goods  of  the  Lon- 
don International  Exhibition  of  1871,  was  made  by  Lieut. 
Grover,  R.  E.  He  states  that  the  trade  in  English  pro- 
ducts of  this  class  has  marvellously  increased  in  the  past 
thirty  years.  Over  30,000,000  of  fire-bricks  are  annually 
made  at  Stourbridge,  instead  of  14,000,000  as  formerly. 
Newcastle  produces  80,000,000  instead  of  7,000,000.  The 
export  trade  increased  sixfold  since  1862. 

The  celebrated  Stourbridge  clay,  obtained  about  twenty 
miles  south-west  of  Birmingham,  is  dug  from  shafts  in  the 
coal  measures,  generally  below  three  workable  seams  of 
coal,  and  between  marl,  or  rock,  and  an  inferior  clay. 
The  seam  averages  three  feet  in  thickness.  The  middle 
portion  is  selected.  After  hoisting  to  the  surface,  the  clay 
is  sorted  by  women,  the  best  lumps,  or  kernels,  being  laid 
aside  for  glass-house  pots.  This  selected  clay  costs  fifty- 
five  shillings  a  ton.  Ordinary  fire-clay  costs,  at  the  same 
place,  only  ten  shillings  a  ton.  About  four  tons  are 
required  to  make  a  thousand  nine-inch  fire-bricks.  The 
clay  is  mined  over  an  area  of  about  nine  square  miles,  and 
there  are  about  a  dozen  establishments. 

The  percentages  of  the  important  ingredients  of  the 
Stourbridge  clays  are  shown  in  the  following  analyses 
made  by  Mr.  F.  A.  Abel,  F.  R.  S.,  chemist  to  the  War 
Department,  England  : — 


TEREA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC. 


327 


Analyses  of  Stourbridge  Clay. 


Silica. 

Alumina. 

Peroxide  Iron. 

Alkalies,  loss 
etc. 

1, 

.     66.47 

26.26 

6.63 

.64 

2, 

65.65 

26.59 

6.71 

2.05 

3, 

65.50 

27.35 

5.40 

1.75 

4, 

67.00 

25.80 

4.90 

2.30 

5, 

63,42 

81.20 

4.70 

.68 

6, 

65.08 

27.39 

8.98 

3.55 

7, 

66.21 

27.82 

3.41 

3.56 

8, 

58.48 

85.78 

3.02 

2.72 

9, 

63.40 

31.70 

3.00 

1.90 

Lieut.  Grover  very  justly  points  out  "  that  the  infusibil- 
ity  of  any  substance  depends  not  merely  upon  the  chem- 
ical nature  of  its  constituents,  but  also  upon  the  manner 
in  which  those  constituents  are  combined  with  one  another. 
For  example,  granite  jper  se  is  infusible  at  ordinary  high 
temperatures,  whilst  pounded  granite  can  be  readily  melted 
by  the  same  degree  of  heat.  Thus  it  would  seem  that  a 
porosity  in  structure,  brought  about  by  a  coarseness  of  ele- 
mentary particles,  would  enhance  the  chemical  infusibility 
of  a  material ;  and  that  in  fire-clay  goods  a  close  uniform 
structure,  though  pleasing  to  the  eye,  is  not  favorable  to 
their  refractory  powers,  since  the  component  particles 
should  have  a  facility  for  contraction  or  expansion  under 
high  temperature,  and  the  air  cavities  act  as  valuable  non- 
conductors of  heat.  Hence  it  will  be  evident  that  to  deter- 
mine accurate  conclusions  respecting  these  wares,  a  fire 
test  is  as  essential  as  chemical  analysis." 


Hollow  Brick. 

Much   attention    has    of    late   been   given   to   the   manu- 
facture of  hollow  brick,   to  enclose  air-spaces  between  the 


328  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

interior  and  exterior  surfaces  of  walls,  so  as  to  exclude 
dampness  and  secure  greater  warmth.  This  is  of  great 
importance,  and  especially  where  "furring  off"  the  wall 
is  avoided,  as  it  should  be  for  many  good  reasons.  But 
the  great  cause  of  dampness,  and  consequent  great  con- 
ducting power  of  walls,  is  not  likely  to  be  avoided  by  even 
hollow  brick  of  the  best  construction,  unless  access  of 
water  to  the  outside  and  the  foundations  is  prevented  by 
impervious  materials.  The  capillary  power  of  raising 
water  in  walls  is  well  known,  particularly  in  Paris,  where 
dampness  has  been  observed  to  rise  thirty-two  feet  above 
the  foundations.  Long,  driving  rains  fully  saturate  brick 
walls  and  chimneys,  and  exudations  of  water  are  found 
inside  of  dwellings  about  chimneys  where  no  leak  can  be 
discovered.  The  capacity  of  absorption  of  water  by  bricks 
is  probably  not  less  than  a  pint  to  each  one.  Mr.  Chad- 
wick,  in  his  "  Report  on  Dwellings  for  the  Poor,"  says  that 
in  England  common  bricks  absorb  as  much  as  a  pint  or 
pound  of  water;  and  supposes  a  case  of  a  cottage  wall 
consisting  of  twelve  thousand  bricks,  which  would  be  capa- 
ble of  holding  fifteen  hundred  gallons,  or  six  and  a  half 
tons  of  water  when  saturated.  To  evaporate  this  would 
require  a  ton  of  coal.  Sandstone  and  granite  also  -hold 
quantities  of  water  in  their  pores.  Prof.  Ansted  states 
that  granite,  in  a  dry  state,  is  rarely  without  a  pint  and  a 
half  of  water  in  each  cubic  foot.  Sandstone  may  contain 
half  a  gallon,  and  loose  sand  two  gallons. 

The  absorptive  capacity  of  bricks  varies  with  their  dens- 
ity, depending  upon  the  process  of  manufacture.  This  has 
been  shown  by  Cyrus  Chambers,  in  experiments  upon 
bricks  made  by  the  machine  of  his  invention  and  on  hand- 
made bricks,  the  results  of  which  are  given  in  the  annexed 
table  : — 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC. 


329 


Table  sliowing  the  Percentage  of  Water  absorbed  by  various  Bricks 
after  Thirteen  Days'  submersion. 


— 

M  a) 

u  ^ 

■M 

Ta  . 

[3j 

"5    "2 

So  c 

3  CS  C 

a 

Degree 

The  Process  of  Manu- 

ox: o 

o      o 

^S 

C3  Q  60 

c 

of  Burning, 

Locality  of  Clay. 

facture. 

C  N  ^ 

■■5°  a 

•S  3 

s 

!"=  = 

c° 

"     ~ 

s 
'A 

o«. 

"S-S 

o 

fS    1 

1 

Hard,    .    . 

Pea  Shore,  N.  J.,    . 

Chamhers'  machine. 

5    0 

5    2 

2 

2.5 

2 

Dark,    .    . 

l<           u             << 

«                  « 

4  15 

5    7 

8 

10.12 

3 

Light,    .    . 

«        «          <( 

((                  <( 

4  14 

5  10 

12 

15.4 

4 

Salmon,     . 

((        li          <( 

"                   " 

4  14 

5  12 

14 

17.95 

5 

Very  hard, 

((        ((          (( 

Hyd.  Press,  600  tons 

pi-essure. 

2    4 

2    6 

2 

*5.55 

6 

Dark,    .    . 

a          «             t< 

Dry  Press, 

4  13 

5    7 

10 

13. 

7 

Salmon,     . 

«          ((             (( 

Dry  Press.t 

2    8 

3    1 

9 

22.5 

8 

Dark,    .    . 

Hestonville,  Phila., 

Chambers'  machine, 

5    3 

5  15 

12 

14.46 

9 

Dark,    .    . 

t(              « 

((                  (< 

5    5 

6    3 

14 

16.47 

10 

Light,    .    . 

a                   ic 

((                  i( 

5    3 

6    0 

13 

15.66 

11 

Salmon,     . 

(<                    <( 

ti                  « 

5    8 

6    8 

16 

18.18 

12 

Salmon,     . 

i<                    « 

Hand, 

4    8 

5    8 

16 

22.22 

13 

Light,    .    . 

«                    (( 

"            ... 

4  10 

5    8 

14 

18.91 

14 

Hard,    .    . 

«                    i< 

(( 

4  12 

5    8 

12 

15.78 

15 

Salmon,     . 

Neck,  Phila.,  . 

"            ... 

4    8 

5    7 

15 

20.83 

16 

Light,    .    . 

(1         (( 

« 

4  13 

5    9 

12 

15.58 

17 

Hard,    .    . 

"         " 

" 

4  11 

5    2 

7 

9.33 

18 

Hard,  •.    . 

"         "       .        . 

" 

4  10 

5    3 

9 

12.16 

19 

Dark,    .    ■. 

Hudson  R.,  N.  Y., 

Hall's  machine. 

4    3 

4    6 

3 

4.47 

20 

Light,    ,    . 

i<        «        (( 

((           (( 

4    2 

4  12 

10 

15.15 

*  This  brick,  in  the  process  of  manufacture,  was  submitted  to  a  pressure  under  a  hydrau- 
lic press  of  121,695  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

t  This  brick  was  made  by  the  dry-clai/  process,  of  the  same  clay  as  No.  1,  and  was  exposed 
one  winter  to  the  action  of  the  frost,  and  had  partially  fallen,  none  of  the  angles  being  left. 

This  shows  a  gain  in  weight  of  from  two  to  sixteen 
ounces,  or  from  2^  per  cent,  to  221-  per  cent. 

The  capillary  power  of  bricks  is  such  that  even  if  made 
hollow  in  the  best  maimer,  the  inner  surface  must  become 
as  fully  saturated  with  water  as  the  outer ;  and  there  is  no 
remedy  except  to  protect  the  outer  surface  by  an  imper- 
vious glaze,  or  enamel,  or  to  thoroughly  isolate  the  inside 
wall,  or  layer,  from  contact  with  the  outer.  Even  headers, 
or  tie-bricks,  at  intervals,  serve  to  convey  the  moisture  and 
destroy  the  efficacy  of  a  hollow  wall. 


Sizes  of  Bricks. 

There  was  a  variety  of  sizes  of  bricks  shown  at  Vienna. 

In  general,   they  are  broad  and  not  thick.     In  the  United 

States   there   is   no    standard   size.     In   the  Eastern   States 

bricks  are  short,  narrow,  and  very  thick.     The  latter  make  a 

42 


330 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


wall  thick  enough  to  pass  inspection,  while  the  thickness 
promotes  rapid  laying.  As  a  general  rule  the  dimensions 
increase  in  breadth  and  length  southward,  and  decrease  in 
thickness.  For  example,  a  Boston  brick  is  about  2^  by  3| 
by  7^  inches.  In  Valparaiso,  Chili,  they  are  made  1^  by 
10  by  18  inches.  Cuban  brick  are  about  3^  by  6  by  13 
inches.  New  Orleans,  2|  by  4|  by  9  inches.  Philadel- 
phia (common)  are  usually  about  2|  by  4  by  8^  inches. 

A  Philadelphia  brick  contains  about  85.6  cubic  inches  of 
clay.  A  Boston,  or  a  Hudson  River  brick,  contains  about 
69.12  cubic  inches;  therefore,  twenty-five  thousand  (25,000) 
Philadelphia  bricks  have  the  volume  of  thirty  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  thirty-two  (30,932)  of  the  Eastern  bricks. 

M.  Paul  Bonneville,  in  his  Report  upon  the  Bricks  and 
Tiles  of  the  Paris  Exposition,  1867,  gives  the  following 
table  showino:  the — 


Dimensions  of  Bricks  of  several  Countries. 


LOCALITY. 

Length. 

Breadth. 

Thickness. 

Volume. 

m. 

m. 

m. 

c.  c. 

Burgundy,        .        .        .        .        . 

0.220 

0.110 

0.060 

1,452 

Montereau, 

0.220 

0.110 

0.055 

1,331 

Larcelles,  red,  largest,     . 

0.220 

0.110 

0.050 

1,210 

Larcelles,  red,  seconds,    . 

0.190 

0.100 

0.045 

940 

"  Country  brick,"  Paris-,   . 

0.220 

0.110 

0.050 

1,210 

"  Country  brick,"  Paris,   . 

0.220 

0.100 

0.060 

1,320 

Flemish,. 

0.210 

0.110 

0.047 

1,085 

English, 

0.250 

0.110 

0.060 

1,650 

English, 

0.238 

0.115 

0.077 

2,107 

English, 

0.254 

0.124 

0.076 

2,400 

Holland, 

0.260 

0.120 

0.054 

1,684 

Experiments  made  upon  French  brick  show  that  the  resist- 
ance to  breaking  strain  ranges  from  eight  kilogrammes  the 
square  centimetre  for  ordinary  soft  brick,  to  twenty  kilo- 
grammes for  brown  Burgundy  bricks,  which  will  also  bear 
one  hundred  and  ten  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  kilogrammes 
before  crushing. 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  331 


Brick-Making   Machinery. 

Space  and  time  both  prevent  the  consideration  of  this  sub- 
ject in  detail,  permitting  only  brief  notices  of  some  of  the 
machines. 

The  two  principal  types  are  the  piston  machines,  and  those 
for  continuous  delivery  through  dies  of  the  size  and  form  of 
the  section  of  the  brick.  Of  the  former  there  was  an  example 
in  the  United  States  section,  and  of  the  latter  in  the  Austrian. 

Gregg's  Excelsior  Brick  Press. — The  celebrated  brick 
press,  invented  by  William  L.  Gregg,  of  Chicago,  and  which 
was  honored  with  a  prize  medal  at  Paris  in  1867,  was  exhibited 
in  model.  This  invention,  which  has  been  improved  since 
1867,  is  competent  to  produce  fifty-six  bricks  per  minute,  or 
twenty-six  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  bricks  in  a  day  of  ten 
hours.  And  it  is  claimed  by  the  inventor  that  bricks  of  the 
lower  grades  can  be  made  by  this  machine  for  less  than  one- 
half,  and  face  or  front  bricks  for  about  one-third  the  cost  of 
making  by  hand. 

The  machine  has  two  sets  of  moulds,  seven  in  each  set, 
fixed  upon  a  movable  table  which  passes  back  and  forth  under 
a  feeder  through  which  clay  is  forced  into  the  moulds.  When 
filled,  the  contents  receive,  in  the  movement,  two  distinct 
downward  pressures  from  a  wheel  above.  The  bottoms  of 
the  moulds  are  movable,  and  are  attached  to  a  piston  which 
slides  up  on  an  inclined  plane  as  the  carriage  or  table  moves 
out  from  under  the  wheel.  This  forces  the  bottom  of  each 
mould  upward,  carrying  with  it  the  brick,  and  when  all  are 
out  of  the  moulds  they  are  swept  ofi"  to  one  side,  the  empty 
moulds  return  under  the  hopper  and  the  process  is  repeated. 
The  clay  is  taken  directly  from  the  bank,  and  is  prepared  for 
the  moulds  by  two  grinding  rollers.  From  the  discharge  of 
these  rollers  it  is  elevated  to  the  hopper  of  the  machine. 

The  rapidity  of  the  produqtion  of  the  moulded  clay  bricks  is 
not  the  only  great  advantage  of  this  system.  The  clay  need 
not  be  so  wet  as  is  necessary  for  hand-moulding,  and  thus  a 
great  saving  of  time  in  drying  results.  Hand-made  bricks  as 
they  come  from  the  moulds  must  lose  twenty-five  per  cent,  of 
water  by  artificial  drying  or  spontaneous  evaporation  before  it 


332  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

is  safe  to  burn  them,  but  the  machine-made  bricks,  it  is  claimed, 
do  not  contain  more  than  one-eight  this  amount  of  water. 
This  permits  expensive  sheds  and  drying  floors  to  be  dis- 
cardedj  and  renders  it  possible  to  manufacture  continuously 
throughout  the  year. 

In  Chicago,  in  1872,  there  were  some  400,000,000  of  bricks 
made  and  used,  and  about  half  that  number  in  1873.  The 
clay  for  the  common  brick  is  obtained  from  the  excavations 
made  for  docks  and  slips  along  the  river  in  the  city.  Fine 
front  or  facing  bricks  are  made  from  clay  procured  at  Gregg 
Station,  eighteen  miles  from  the  city,  on  the  Chicago,  Bur- 
lington and  Quincy  Railroad.  Brick  made  from  this  clay  in 
the  Excelsior  Press  are  surpassed  in  color  only  by  the  finer 
grades  of  Philadelphia  and  St.  Louis  brick,  but  are  as  strong 
as  any. 

Chambers'  Continuous  Delivery  Machine. — There  were 
brick-making  machines  exhibited,  belonging  to  the  class  of 
tempered  clay  continuous  delivery  machines,  in  which  the 
clay,  being  properly  mixed,  is  forced  through  a  rectangular 
die  in  a  continuous  stream  or  column  of  clay,  of  the  breadth 
and  thickness  required  for  brick.  From  this  column  of  clay, 
bricks  are  cut  off  at  proper  intervals  by  wires,  stretched 
in  a  frame,  or  by  knives.  The  principle  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  machine  invented  and  patented  in  the  United  States,  by 
Cyrus  Chambers,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia.  These  machines  have 
been  in  operation  for  several  years,  and  have  produced  many 
millions  of  brick. 

The  machine  is  constructed  almost  wholly  of  iron,  and  is 
made  very  strong.  It  receives  the  clay  direct  from  the  bank, 
tempers  it  with  water,  and  forms  it  into  bricks,  with  well- 
defined  corners,  and  smooth,  straight  surfaces,  at  the  rate  of 
from  fifty  to  eighty  per  minute,  or  from  twenty-five  to  thirty- 
five  thousand  per  day  for  ten  hours. 

The  tempering  portion  of  the  machine  consists  of  a  strong 
iron  case,  in  which  revolves  a  horizontal  shaft,  into  which  are 
set  spirally,  strong  temperiug  knives,  or  blades  of  steel,  so 
that,  as  they  pass  through  the  clay,  they  move  it  forward 
their  thickness,  or  whatever  distance  they  may  be  set  to  do. 
The  clay  being  stiff,  and  not  having  much  water  on  it,  is  not 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  333 

liable  to  slip  before  the  knives,  but  is  cut  through  and 
through,  and  tliorouglihj  mixed  ;  so  that  by  the  time  it  reaches 
the  small  end  of  the  tempering  case  it  is  ready  to  be  formed 
into  bricks. 

On  the  end  of  the  tempering  shaft  is  secured  a  conical 
screw,  which  revolves  in  a  cast-iron  conical  case,  the  inside 
of  which  is  pitted,  *checked,  or  ribbed,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
clay  from  revolving  in  it,  and  is  chilled,  to  prevent  wearing. 

The  screw  being  smooth  and  very  hard,  the  clay  slides  on 
it,  thus  becoming,  as  it  were,  a  nut;  the  screw  revolving,  and 
the  clay  thus  not  being  allowed  to  move  backward,  it  must  go 
forward. 

This  operation  further  tempers  the  clay,  and  delivers  it,  in 
a  solid,  round  column,  to  the  forming  cZze,  .which  is  of  peculiar 
construction  and  form,  and  so  designed  as  to  reduce  the  round 
column  to  a  rectangular  one,  whose  breadth  and  thickness  is 
the  proper  breadth  and  thickness  for  a  brick,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  clay  is  forced  into  the  corners  of  the  finishing  part  of 
the  die,  so  that  the  angles  of  the  bar  of  clay  are  made  full, 
solid  and  sharp.  This  column  of  moulded  clay,  as  it  issues 
from  the  die,  is  conducted  by  an  endless  belt,  supported  on 
rollers,  to  the  cutting  device,  which  consists  of  a  thin  blade 
of  steel,  secured  to  the  periphery  of  a  wheel,  passing  through 
the  bar  of  clay,  and  being  guided  by  steel  plates,  so  arranged 
as  to  move  with  the  clay  while  the  knife  is  passing  through  it, 
and  so  as  to  support  the  under-side  and  edge  of  the  bar  while 
being  cut. 

The  bricks  are  then  dusted  with  fine  sand,  and  are  conveyed 
on  cars  or  barrows  to  the  packing-floors  or  drying-chambers. 

One  of  these  machines  will  make  from  twenty-five  thousand 
to  thirty-five  thousand  bricks  regularly,  in  ordinary  clays, 
per  day  of  ten  hours  ;  or  from  fifty  to  eighty  bricks  per 
minute. 

Messrs.  Chambers  &  Brother  made  some  experiments  to 
determine  the  crushing  pressure  of  bricks  made  by  this  ma- 
chine out  of  New  Jersey  and  Philadelphia  clays,  with  the  fol- 
lowinfj  results  : — 


334 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


Table  sliowing  the  Pressure  different  Bricks  are  capable  of  sustaining 
in  various  positions. 


Degree 

Locality  of 

Process  of 

Position — 

between  -which 

Number  of  pounds 

of  Burning. 

Clay. 

Manufacture. 

pressure. 

the  briclcs 
were  placed. 

pressure  at  whicli  the 
briolis  crushed. 

1 

Salmon,  j 

Pea  Shore, 
N.  J.  ■ 

C.B.  &Co. 
Machine. 

^End. 

Ash  wood. 

8,960=  4  tons. 

2 

Salmon,  . 

" 

" 

Edge. 

11        (( 

15,680=  7  tons. 

3 

Salmon,  . 

(( 

" 

Side. 

(I        (( 

40,320=18  tons. 

4^ 

Light 
Stretcher, 

\      " 

<( 

Edge. 

"        " 

13,440=  6  tons. 

5 

Hard,      . 

(1 

Side. 

Cast  iron.  < 

134,400=60  tons, 
without  crushing. 

6 

Salmon,  j 

Philada.    ? 
Neck.     S 

By  hand,  . 

Edge. 

((        <( 

11,200=  5  tons. 

7 

Light 
Stretcher, 

i   " 

i( 

Side. 

II        If 

33,600=15  tons. 

8 

Hard,      . 

"         • 

Side. 

II        II 

67,200=30  tons. 

The  first  four  experiments  were  made  with  the  bricks  laid 
between  hard  ash  planks,  but  the  wood  crushed  and  spread 
out,  carrying  the  edges  of  the  bricks  with  it,  so  that  the  pres- 
sure at  which  they  crushed  may  be  considered  far  under  the 
actual  pressure  the  bricks  are  capable  of  sustaining.  The 
last  four  experiments  were  made  with  the  bricks  between 
plates  of  cast-iron,  without  any  cement,  or  anything  between 
them,  the  rough,  uneven  surfaces  coming  in  contact;  conse- 
quently, they  were  much  more  severe  than  though  the  bricks 
had  been  laid  in  cement,  so  as  to  allow  the  pressure  to  be 
evenly  distributed  over  the  whole  surface. 


Display  or  Brick  Machines  at  Foemee  Exhibitions. 

At  the  Exhibition  in  Paris,  1867,  several  brick  machines 
were  shown,  and  were  reported  upon  specially  by  M.  Paul 
Bonneaville,  Engineer  of  Arts  aud  Manufactures,  with  draw- 
ings.* 

The  London  International  Exhibition  in  1871  was  particu- 
larly rich  in  all  forms  of  the  potter's  art  and  appliances,  and 
the  brick  and  tile  machinery  of  Europe  was  well  shown.  It 
is  described  in  some  detail  by  Peter  Bawden,  Esq.,f  and  also 
by  Arthur  Beckwith  of  New  York.     Salvetat  and  Ebelmeu, 

*  Etudes  sur  L'Exposition,  Lacroix,  VII.,  350. 

t  Official  Reports  (British)  on  the  London  International  Exhibition,  I.,  345. 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  335 

in  their  report  upon  pottery  at  tiie  Exhibition  of  1851,  give 
a  very  full  list  of  works,  publications,  and  patents  con- 
nected with  brick-making  machinery.  Those  specially  inter- 
ested in  this  branch  of  the  subject  may  find  in  the  above-cited 
anthorities  the  most  accurate  available  information,  at  least 
from  the  European  point  of  view.* 

Hoffmann's  Furnace. 
The  great  establishment  for  the  manufacture  of  bricks  in 
Vienna  now  has  thirty-three  of  Hoffmann's  patent  "  ring- 
ovens  "  or  annular  brick-kilns  in  use.  They  are  said  to  mark 
a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  works,  effecting  a  great  saving 
of  fuel,  and  consequently  increasing  the  profits.  They  are 
equally  applicable  to  burning  brick,  lime,  earthenware,  cement, 
and  gypsum.  The  inventor  states  that  over  one  thousand  are 
now  in  use,  and  claims  to  effect  a  saving  of  two-thirds  of  the 
fuel  required  by  the  old  methods  of  burning.  Inasmuch  as  a 
very  good  description  of  the  apparatus  has  been  given  by  Dr. 
Barnard  in  his  report  on  the  Paris  Exposition,!  i^  i^  sufficient 
to  direct  attention  to  this  furnace,  which  does  not  appear  to 
have  found  favor  in  the  United  States.  One  objection  given 
against  its  use  is  the  greater  scale  upon  which  our  brick 
manufacture  is  conducted.  When  a  kiln  of  the  ordinary  form 
is  opened  there  is  room  enough  for  carts  and  horses  to  drive 
in  and  load  with  brick  of  any  desired  kind, — either  hard- 
burned,  pressed,  or  soft,  or  "  salmon  brick."  This  objection 
might,  however,  be  readily  overcome  by  making  the  cham- 
bers of  greater  size. 

Clay  Pipes. 
The  manufacture  of  clay  pipes  is  a  branch  of  ceramic  art  of 
no  small  importance,  industrially.  The  establishment  of 
Messrs.  McKlroy  &  Co.,  in  Philadelphia,  turns  out  about  a 
thousand  gross  of  pipes  weekly.  About  twenty  different 
styles  are  made,  ranging  in  price  from  85  cents  to  $1.35  the 
gross.     A  clay  of  peculiar  excellence  is  required. 

*  Pottery — Terra-Cotta  Stoneware,  Fire-Brick,  etc.    Van  Nostrand,  1872. 
t  Industrial  Arts,  by  Frederick  A.  P.  Barnard,  LL.  D. 


336  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


Y.    Materials    foe    Pottery. 

The  materials  used  in  the  manufacture  of  pottery  were  ex- 
hibited in  several  of  the  sections,  notably  from  Japan.  Much 
more  attention  has  been  given  abroad  to  explorations  for  clays 
and  to  their  examination  chemically,  and  experimentally  in  the 
furnace,  than  in  the  United  States.  Collections  are  made 
under  government  auspices  to  illustrate  and  promote  the 
potter's  art.  The  Museum  of  Practical  Geology  in  London 
contains  very  fall  collections,  illustrating  the  qualities  of  the 
clays  and  plastic  strata  of  Great  Britain,  selected  with  a  view 
to  their  applicability  to  ceramic  manufactures.  There  are 
over  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  localities  represented  in 
the  series,  and  each  set  of  specimens  contains  six  examples. 
They  are  all  arranged  in  geological  sequence,  commencing 
with  the  newer  deposits  and  ranging  downwards. 

As  already  stated  in  the  general  survey,  there  is  no  lack  in 
the  United  States  of  suitable  clays  for  pottery.  They  are 
widely  distributed,  not  only  in  recent  deposits  along  the 
granite  ranges  of  the  country,  but  in  the  tertiary  and  older 
formations.  They  result  from  the  gradual  disintegration  and 
decay  of  feldspathic  rocks.  This  decay  and  softening  is  seen 
on  a  grand  scale  in  the  Southern  States,  but  at  the  North  the 
decayed  portions  appear  to  have  been  removed  by  the  me- 
chanical force  of  ice.  The  antiquity  of  the  decomposition  and 
its  great  extent  in  past  geological  ages,  has  been  pointed  out 
by  Prof.  T.  Sterry  Hunt,  who  believes  it  to  have  been  accom- 
plished in  great  part  by  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid,  aided 
by  warmth  and  moisture.  He  connects  it  with  the  slow  puri- 
fication of  the  atnlosphere  which  has  been  in  progress  from 
very  early  times.  The  alkalies,  lime  and  magnesia,  set  free 
by  the  decomposition,  absorbed  the  carbonic  acid,  and  carried 
in  solution  to  the  ocean,  gave  rise  to  limestones,  dolomites 
and  common  salt. 

In  New  England  the  principal  known  deposits  of  clay  suit- 
able for  potters'  use,  are  along  the  western  base  of  the  Green 
Mountains  in  tertiary  deposits.  They  have  been  worked  at 
Brandon,  and  Monkton,  in  Vermont.  From  the  former  place 
quantities  have  been  taken  for  fire-brick  and  for  putting  into 


TERRA-COTTA,    BRICK,    ETC.  337 

paper.  In  Massachusetts,  clay  is  cited  as  occurring  at  North- 
ampton, and  at  Martha's  Vineyard.  Granular  quartz,  another 
important  ingredient  of  the  body,  is  mined  in  Berkshire 
County. 

The  early  exportation  of  samples  of  clay  from  the  Southern 
States  to  England,  has  been  noticed.  No  doubt  extensive 
deposits  of  valuable  clays  exist  there.  Good  clays  are  found 
in  California. 

Extensive  deposits  of  the  finest  clays  for  pottery  purposes 
are  found  at  many  points  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  and 
including  the  varieties  known  as  fire-clay,  paper-clay,  and 
alum-clay,  they  form  a  continuous  belt  extending  obliquely 
across  the  State  from  Raritan  Bay  and  Staten  Island  Sound 
on  the  east,  to  the  Delaware  Eiver  on  the  west.*  The  pits 
dug  for  these  clays  are  chiefly  within  areas  of  no  great  extent 
near  Woodbridge,  Amboy,  Bonhamtown,  Washington  and 
Trenton,  but  explorations  have  shown  the  existence  of  other 
places  where  they  can  be  dug  with  profit.  They  are,  in  gen- 
eral, overlaid  with  superficial  beds  of  drift  of  sand  and  gravel. 
The  beds  are  extensively  mined,  not  only  for  pottery  and  fire- 
brick, but  for  shipment.  Large  quantities  are  used  in  New 
York,  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  for  the  manufacture  of  alum. 
Much  of  the  whitest  and  purest  is  sold  to  the  manufacturers 
of  paper-hanging  for  facing  wall-papers.  By  far  the 
greatest  consumption  is  in  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick, 
especially  at  Perth  Amboy,  South  Amboy,  and  at  Trenton. 
In  one  township,  Woodbridge,  over  fifty  thousand  tons  of 
clay  were  raised  in  1865. 

Fire-sand,  moulding-sand,  kaolin  and  feldspar,  often  occur 
with  these  beds  of  clay  and  in  workable  quantities.  The  ma- 
terials used  for  fire-brick  consist  of   about  five-eighths  raw 

*  Tbe  limits  of  this  belt  are  defined  by  the  state  geologists  of  New  Jersey,  as 
follows  :  "  The  northern  limit  is  marked  by  the  outcropping  red  shale  and  sandstone 
of  the  triassic  formation,  following  an  almost  straight  line  from  Woodbridge,  south- 
west by  Bonhamtown,  to  the  mouth  of  Lawrence's  Brook  on  the  Raritan  River ;  along 
this  stream,  nearly  to  the  Monmouth  Junction,  and  thence  north  of  the  railroad  near 
Penn's  Neck  and  Baker's  Basin,  to  the  Delaware  River  at  Trenton.  The  southern 
boundary  of  this  sub-division  of  the  cretaceous  formation  is  not  well  defined  in  conse- 
quence of  the  superficial  beds  of  drift  which  cover  it.  Near  Raritan  Bay  they  are  not  so 
thick,  and  the  division  line  between  the  plastic  clays  and  the  clay  marls  is  accurately 
located  near  the  mouth  of  Cheesquake  Creek.  But  towards  the  south-west  the  overly- 
ing drift  is  so  deep  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw  the  southern  boundary  with  much 
certainty." — Cook,  Geol.  Rept.,  1873,  ^j.  103. 
43 


338 


EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


clay,  one-eighth  cement,  one-eighth   kaolin,  and  one-eighth 
fire-sand.     The  "  cement "  is  a  burned  fire-clay. 

In  the  best  New  Jersey  clays  no  grit  can  be  perceived  when 
tested  between  the  teeth.  Analyses  of  good  specimens  show 
the  following  ingredients  ^ : — 


1.* 

2.t 

34 

44 

Silica, 

43.20 

45.30 

46.32 

46.29 

Alumina,  . 

39.71 

37.10 

39.74 

40.09 

Zirconia,   . 
Potash, 

1.40 
.37 

1.40 
1.30 

- 

— 

Lime, 

- 

.17 

.36 

.60 

Magnesia, 

- 

.22 

.44 

- 

Peroxide  of  iron, 
Protoxide, 

.74 

1.30 

.27 

.27 

Water, 

14.25 

13.40 

12.67 

12.67 

*  White  clay  from  Burt's  Creek  near  South  Amhoy. 
t  White  clay  from  Trenton. 


J  Cornwall,  England. 


Prof.  Cook,  state  geologist  of  New  Jersey,  says  of  the 
potter's  clay,  that  it  is  tenacious,  of  a  light-blue  color  ;  a  little 
gritty  when  tried  between  the  teeth.  When  highly  heated  it 
becomes  partially  vitrified  without  losing  its  shape,  and  is 
thus  well  adapted  for  earthenware.  And  it  can  be  heated 
sufficiently  for  salt-glazing  without  injury.  The  following 
analyses  show  composition  at  several  localities  : — 


1.* 

2.t 

34 

4.§ 

Silica, 

71.80 

68.00 

65.62 

75.55 

Alumina,  .... 

19.05 

23.66 

20.88 

19.04 

Potash,       .... 

.61 

1.19 

1.95 

.10 

Lime,         .... 

.31 

- 

- 

- 

Magnesia, 

.79 

- 

.30 

- 

Oxide  of  iron,  . 

1.31 

1.17 

1.23 

.71 

Water,       .... 

6.08 

6.40 

8.10 

4.85 

99.95 

100.42 

98.08 

100.25 

*  Morgan  clay,  pits  near  South  Amhoy. 

f  Bank  of  Rancocas  Creek,  near  Bridgebora. 

t  Billingsport,  on  the  bank  of  the  Delaware,  below  the  mouth  of  Mantua  Creek. 

§  Raccoou  Creek,  a  mile  above  Bridgeport. 


'  These  and  the  following  analyses  for  comparison  are  taken  from  the  Geology  of 
New  Jersey,  1868,  p.  683.    Analyses  3  and  4  from  Percy's  Metallurgy. 


TEREA-COTTA,   BRICK,    ETC. 


339 


He  observes  that  the  clay  pits  about  South  Amboy  furnish 
a  large  amount  of  this  useful  substance  every  year,  and  that 
the  market  is  continually  widening.  It  sold  for  from  $1.50 
to  $5.00  per  ton.  Any  needed  amount  of  clay  can  be  had 
from  the  pits  along  the  Delaware  and  its  branches.  Clay 
suitable  for  making  water-pipes  is  dug  near  the  Woodmansie 
Station  on  the  Raritan  and  Delaware  Bay  Railway.  Light 
colored  clays  of  the  tertiary  formation  are  found  at  many 
points  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  suitable  for  making  a 
common  quality  of  fire-brick  and  for  other  purposes. 

Coarse  clays,  superior  to  brick  clays,  occur  in  inexhaustible 
quantities  over  and  under  the  fire-clays.  They  are  well 
adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  coarse  pottery,  sewer-pipes, 
drain-tiles,  etc.,  for  which  they  are  already,  to  some  extent, 
utilized. 

For  the  manufacture  of  glass-pots,  which  require  a  pecu- 
liar and  excellent  quality  of  clay,  it  was  formerly  thought 
that  none  of  a  suitable  composition  existed  in  the  United 
States,  and  that  only  English  and  German  clays  could  be 
relied  upon.  Experiments  were  made  at  Wheeling,  Vir- 
ginia, on  clays  obtained  at  the  Mt.  Savage  Iron  Works, 
and  the  measure  of  success  attained  encouraged  the  belief 
that  the  glass-works  might  become  independent  of  foreign 
sources  for  this  material.  Soon  after,  a  clay  was  obtained 
from  Missouri  which  proved  to  be  equal  to,  if  not  superior, 
to  any  other  known  clays  for  such  purposes. 

The  fire-clays  of  St.  Louis,  according  to  Dr.  Litton, 
have  the  following  composition  : — 


s.t 


Silica, 
Alumina, 
Oxide  of  iron, 
Lime, 
Magnesia, 
Potash,    . 
Soda, 
Sulphur,  . 
Water,     . 


69.60 

26.41 

1.61 

1.00 

.07 

.29 

.16 

.38 

10.36 


*  Raw  clay. 


t  Prepared,  probably  washed. 


340 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


China  Clay — England. 
The  following  tabular  statement  shows  the  extent  of  the 
production  of  China  stone  and  China  clay  in  Cornwall,  for 
a  series  of  years*  : — 


Shipments  of  China  Clay  and  China  Stone  from  Cornwall,  England. 


YE  AK. 

Kaolin  (China  Clay). 

China  Stone. 

St.  Agnes  Clay. 

1865, 

97,750 

25,500 

1,566 

1866, 

105,000 

35,000 

1,524 

1867, 

127,000 

33,500 

1,316 

1868, 

100,000 

29,000 

979 

1869, 

105,700 

28,500 

875 

1870, 

110,520 

82,500 

946 

1871, 

125,000 

33,000 

774 

At  St.  Agnes  there  were  also,  in  1871,  about  four  hun- 
dred tons  produced  for  candle-chiy,  used  in  the  mines  for 
supporting  the  caudles. 

In  Devonshire,  19,000  tons  were  produced,  in  1871,  at 
the  Lee  Moor,  and  other  china-works,  and  47,639  tons  of 
pipe  and  potter's  clay  were  shipped  at  Teignmouth,  the 
production  of  Newton  and  neighborhood.  Of  a  total  of 
57,670  tons  exported  from  Poole,  Devonshire,  in  1871,  the 
greater  portion  was  sent  to  London  and  Euncorn,  and  to 
Quebec  200  tons. 

Of  potter's  material  (clay,  flint,  chert,  etc.)  there  were 
imported  into  the  potteries  by  Trent  and  Mersey  naviga- 
tion, 144,588  tons,  and  by  the  North  Staffordshire  Rail- 
way, clay,  flint,  chert,  etc.,  11,345  tons. 

The  demand  for  porcelain  clays  sustains  a  very  consider- 
able mining  industry  in  Cornwall  and  Devonshire.  The 
official  mineral  statistics  of  the  United  Kingdom  contain 
a  list  of  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  five  separate  clay- 
works  in  Cornwall,  seven  in  Devonshire  for  porcelain  clay, 
five  of  "Teignmouth  clay,"  and  six  of  "Poole  clay."  In 
Staffordshire   there    are    nineteen   works    producing   Stour- 


*  Compiled  from  Hunt's  Mineral  Statistics  of  Great  Britain. 


TEEEA-COTTA,    BEICK,    ETC. 


341 


bridge  clay.     The  following  analyses  show  the  composition 
of  the  celebrated  Stourbridge  and  other  foreign  clays  : — 


1.* 

s.f 

3.t 

4.t 

Silica, 

65.10 

73. 

50.20 

51.90 

Alumina, 

22.22 

19.93 

34.13 

30.03 

Potash, 

.18 

.89 

.39 

.89 

Lime, 

.14 

.39 

.30 

1.60 

Magnesia, 

.18 

- 

- 

.18 

Protoxide  of  iron,     .... 

r    1.92 

.87 

.87 

1.50 

Phosphoric  acid,        .... 

.06 

- 

- 

- 

Water  and  organic  matter. 

9.86 

6.40 

13.70 

13.90 

*  English  Stourbridge,  Percy. 


X  Coblentz,  for  glass-pots. 


t  German  clay  for  glass-pots,  from  Bremen,  Germany. 

Note. — Numbers  2,  3  and  4,  made  in  the  New  Jersey  State  Labo- 
ratory. 


Ceeamic  Enamels. 

Chemisch-technische  Fabeik  bei  Elbogen  in  Bohmen. 
Director,  Max  Hosier.  C.  F.  Mej-Jcer,  Agent,  1  Getreide- 
marM,  Vienna.  There  was  from  this  source  a  very  inter- 
esting exhibition  of  coloring  materials  for  the  use  of  potters 
and  decorators,  which  was  honored  with  the  Progress  Medal. 
The  highest  skill  of  the  chemist  is  called  for  by  this  art, 
and  the  demand  is  such  that  the  manufacture  of  standard 
colors,  or  enamels,  ready  for  use,  has  become  an  important 
industry.  A  large  glass  case  was  filled  with  a  collection 
of  the  manufactures  of  their  establishment,  consisting  of 
fluxes,  glazes,  colored  glazes  and  enamels,  and  metallic 
oxides  for  glass,  porcelain,  stoneware  and  majolica.  These 
are  accompanied  by  proof-tiles,  upon  which  the  colors  have 
been  tested  by  burning,  showing  all  the  colors  and  shades 
of  color — the  greens,  blues,  red,  rose,  yellow,  etc.,  etc. 
All  the  preparations  of  chromium,  copper,  mercury,  gold 
and  cobalt  were  beautifully  displayed.  By  the  courtesy 
of  the  director  I  have  been  favored  with  a  price-list,  from 
which  I  make  the  following  extracts  for  the  benefit  of  ama- 
teur decorators  and  others,  who  have  found  difficulty  in 
getting  such  materials  in  the  United  States.  « 


342 


EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


Lustres  for  Porcelain,  Stoneware  and  Glass  (Glass  Ornaments  and 

Pearl  ditto) . 


Per  half  02. 

Cheaper 

No. 

in  silver 
krs. 

price— per 

lb.  in  silver 

florins.* 

1 

Flux, 

25 

6 

2 

Pearl  white,  . 

30 

H 

3 

White,    . 

35 

9 

4 

White,    . 

30 

n 

7 

White,    . 

30 

4 

8 

White,    . 

30 

n 

10 

White,    . 

30 

4 

11 

Gray,      . 

35 

9 

12 

Gray,      .        . 

40 

10| 

13 

Gray,      . 

75 

20 

5 

Dove  color,     . 

40 

10 

14 

Rose, 

85 

m 

17 

Light  green,  . 

60 

is' 

18 

Green,     . 

70 

IS 

19 

Yellow  green. 

55 

13^ 

36 

Dark  blue  green. 

170 

45^ 

32 

Gold  lustre,   . 

170 

45 

35 

Purple  lustre, 

280 

75 

33 

Blue,      . 

85 

22* 

21 

Yellow,  . 
Bright  gold,  . 

35 

430 

9 
120 

22 

Gold  yellow,  . 

35 

9 

24 

Orange, . 

45 

12 

27 

Russet,  . 

30 

71 

25 

Yellow  brown. 

30 

7| 

26 

Ii'on  red. 

25 

6 

29 

Tawny  broAvn, 

60 

15 

28 

Dark  brown,  . 

90 

221 

31 

Platinum, 

170 

45 

30 

Bright  silver. 

280 

75 

34 

Bright  silver, 

400 

112|t 

*  The  prices  given  are  in  Austrian  silver  florins,  1=100  kreutzers=50  cents  U.  S. 

t  The  above  list  will  give  an  idea  of  the  colors  fui'nished  and  the  prices.  As  any 
parties  interested  can  obtain  a  catalogue  by  addressing  the  works,  we  do  not  think  it 
necessary  to  complete  the  list  in  these  pages.  The  catalogue  includes  some  two  hun- 
dred colors  for  enamelling,  transparent  bases,  glazing,  &c. 


MARKS  AND  MONOGRAMS,  PORCELAIN  AND  FAIENCE/ 


f]  N  G  L  A  N  D  . 


WEDGWOOD 


TUMEE 


ADA5IS 


ROGERS 


WOOD  and  CALDWELL 


STAFFORDSHIRE, 
i.  1759. 


STAFFORDSHIRE, 
i.  1762. 


STAFFORDSHIRE. 


STAFFORDSHIRE. 


STAFFORDSHIRE. 


STAFFORDSHIRE,  i.  1793. 


LONGPORT 


SPODE 


STAFFORDSHIRE. 


STAFFORDSHIRE. 


Canda 

STAFFORDSHIRE, 
Copeland  &  Qarrett. 

Hichard  3*  Chaffers 
I7fa9 

LIVERPOOL, 
i.  1752. 

SADLER  1756 

LIVERPOOL, 
1.  1756. 

HERCULANEUM 

LIVERPOOL, 
'              i.  1756. 

^ 

PLYMOUTH,  i.  1760, 
bj'  Cookworthy. 

YARMOUTH, 

Absolon. 

SWANSEA 

SWANSEA,  i.  1750. 

qi 

SWANSEA,  red  suimp. 

Mintgamt          wales,  red. 

ca 

LEEDS,  Chas.  Green,  1770. 

^ 

LEEDS,  same  Manuf. 

^ 

BRISTOL,  i.  1772. 

+ 

] 

BRISTOL,  1772. 

I 


A 


4 


9^>- 


a4^ 


kX^ 


BRISTOL,  removed  to 
Staffordshire,  1777. 


BOW,  i.  1740. 


BOW.     This   also   is  consid- 
ered a  Bow  Mark. 


BOW  or  BRISTOL. 


CHELSEA,  i.  1740,  s.  p. 
the  oldest  Mark. 


CHELSEA,  red  mark. 


CHELSEA,  the  best  quality 
marked  in  gold. 


CHELSEA,  DERBY,  s.  p. 
1765,  blue  used. 


CROWN  DERBY, 

a  later  blue  mark. 


W 


flight  Barr 


I  m 


DERBY  or  WORCESTER. 


WORCESTER,  i.  1751, 
the  oldest  mark. 


WORCESTER,  usually 
Chinese  pattern. 


WORCESTER,  1751. 


WORCESTER,  Flight,  1783. 


WORCESTER,  Flight, 
Barr   &   Barr,   1807-1813. 


WORCESTER,  1857-1862. 


SHROPSHIRE,  B. 
Caughley,  1772. 


SHROPSHIRE,  Broseley, 
1780,  Willow  Pattern. 


SHROPSHIRE, 
Cole    Brook    Dale. 


STAFFORDSHIRE, 
Stoke  on  Trent. 


*  From  Carl  Earth's  Pocket  Chart,  Stuttgart,  1873. 


344 


EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


FRANCE 


BR. 


€ 


c 


Y 


St.  cloud,  1st  Period, 
s.  p. 


St.  cloud,  Trou. 
1715-1730. 


CHANTILLT,  e.  1735,  s.  p. 
Blue,  red  or  green. 


ARRAS,  e.  1782,  s.  p. 
Blue  pattern. 


MENECY,  i.  1735,  s.  p. 
Prince  of  Villeroy. 


ETIOLLBS,  i.  1768,  s 
Monnier  Manufr. 


BOUR-LA-REINE,  1.  1773, 
s.  p. 


SCE  AUX-PENT  HIE  VRE , 
i.  1751,  8.  p. 


CLIGNANCOURT. 

A  mark  used  by  Deruelle 

before  1775. 


CLIGNANCOURT,  f.  1780. 
In  leather  color. 


CLIGNANCOURT,  h.  p. 

Called  porcelain  of  Monseur, 

1775. 


ORLEANS,  h.  &  s.  p. 

Under  the  protection  of   the 

Duke  of  Orleans,  1750-1770. 


ORLEANS,  h,  p. 
Blue  Mark. 


PARIS,  Pont-aux-Choux, 
i.  1756,  h.  p. 


PARIS,  Pont-aux-Choux, 
Another  style. 


PARIS,  Rue  Fontaine  au  Roi. 
i.  1773,  M.  Locre,  h.  p. 


H 


MAP 


J^ 


Jl 


M. 


\^ 


h-^e 


PARIS,  Faubourg  St.  Lazare. 
Hannong,  1773,  h.  p. 

PARIS,  Faubourg  St.Antoine 
Morelle,  1773,  h.  p. 

PARIS,  Faubourg  St.Antoine 
Souroux,  1773,  h.  p. 


PARIS,  "GrosCaillou,".h.  p. 
advent  of  Lamarre,  1773. 


PARIS,  Rue  de  Clichy. 


PARIS,  stamped  with 
Caduceus. 


PARIS,  Rue  Thirous,  1778. 

"Porcelain  de  la  reine  " 

(Antoinette.) 


PARIS,  Rue  de  Bondy,  175 
Duke  of  Angoulfeme. 


PARIS,  1780,  Angoulfeme. 


PARIS,  Christ'r  Potter, 

called  "Prince  of  Wales,' 

J  789. 


BELLEVILLE,  Jacob  Petit, 
i.  1796,  h.  p. 


PARIS,  Rue  de  Bondy. 
Dihl,  maker. 


ROUEN,  under  Louis  XIV. 


SCEAUX-PENTHIEVRE. 

The  word  Sceaux  often 

appears  underneath. 


LILLE,  h.  p.,  e.  1783. 
Red  mark. 


FRANCE  (SEVRES). 


SEVRES. 


I.  at  Vincennes,  1753. 
The  oldest  mark. 


Alphabetical,  from  1753- 
1776. 


Double  letter,  from  1777- 
1793. 


French     Republic,    1792- 
1799. 


Sevres 


Sevr€<J 


Sfevpes 


Je  S  eyre 3 


SEVRES. 

Another  style. 
1792-1799. 


Another  style. 
1792-1799. 


The    monogram     out    of 
use,  1798-1802. 


The  Consular  Period, 
used  1801-1804. 


V.  1804-1809,  generally 
red  with  color. 


MARKS,    MONOGRAMS,    ETC. 

FRANCE   (SEVRES)— Continued 


345 


'-i,     SEVRES. 


•s^^sS 


The  Imperial  Eagle,  gen- 
erally from  1810-1814. 


The  royal  cipher  before 
1814-1823  used  again. 


Charles  the  X.,  the  marks 


show  the  year. 


i         Same  reign,  another 
i  style. 


V^ 


Same  reign,  another 

style. 


Charles  X.,  1830. 
On  common  ware. 


On  decorated  pieces, 
1829-1830. 


Sevre 


5V 


C5~46) 


SEVRES. 

Used  1830,  from  August. 


Louis  Pliillippe, 
f.  1830-1834. 


Initials  of  Louis  Philippe 
from  1834-1848,  com- 
mon. 


Chateau   D'Eu   service, 
sometimes     in     gold, 
■  dated  from  1837. 


Cipher  of  Louis  Phillippe, 
printed  marks,  1845-47. 


1848  &  1851,  in  decorated 
pieces. 


French  Republic, 
1848-1851. 


Imperial  Eagle,  1852. 


Monogram  of  Louis  Na- 
poleon III.,  1854. 


GERMANY    AND     AUSTRIA. 


- 


X 


X 


\X/ 


DRESDEN",     Meissen,    1709- 
1726,  in  blue  generally. 


DRESDEN,    1712-1720,   blue 
mark. 


DRESDEN,  to   1720,  blue 
mark. 


DRESDEN,  1730,  blue  mark. 


DRESDEN,  1770,  blue. 
Royal  period. 


DRESDEN,    1796,  Marcollni 
period. 


DRESDEN,  Royal  Porcelain 

Manufacture. 


WIEN,  i.   1718,  generally  to 
1744. 


BERLIN,  1751-1761,Wegely'8 
mark. 


44 


le.PM. 


Y 


BERLIN,  sometimes  an  eagle 
added. 


BERLIN,    another    form    of 
sceptre. 


BERLIN,  special  mark,  par- 
ticularly of  1830. 


HOCHST,    Nassau,    i.    1740, 
gold  or  color. 


HOCHST. 


HOCHST. 


FRANKENTHAL,  h.  p. 
first  Period,  1755-1761. 


FRANKENTHAL,  h.  p. 
second  Period  Carl  Theodor. 
(  +  1799.) 


FRANKENTHAL,  this  mark 
is  allotted  to  Franz  Bartold. 


346 


EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


GERMANY  AND   AUSTRIA— Continued. 


Si 


<5~) 


B 


% 


r 


K 


R- 


n. 


^ 


FBANKENTHAL, 

Philipp  Hiiiiong. 


FRANKENTHAL, 

Jost'ijh  Adam  Haiiong. 


FRANKKNTHAL, 
Job.  Hanong. 


FRANKENTHAL, 

Franz  Bartold. 


NIMPHENBURG,  near 
Munich,  i.  1747,  h.  p. 

NIMPHENBURG,  printed 
.in  colors. 


XIMPHENBURG,  h.  p. 
earlier  mark. 


FURSTENBERG,  i.  1750. 


FURSTENTBERG. 


LUDWIGSBURG,  or  KRO- 
NENBURG,  i.  1758-1806. 


LUDWIGSBURG, 
1st  Period. 


LUDWIGSBURG, 
2d  Period. 


LUDWIGSBURG. 


LUDWIGSBURG. 


FULDA,  i.  1763-1780,  h.  p. 


FULDA. 


RUDOLSTADT.  i.  1758. 


RAUENSTEIN,  h.  p. 


LIMBACH,  h.  p. 


LIMBACH. 


LIMBACH. 


GROSSBREITENBACH, 
h.p. 


^ 


l^'^CV 


ci 


A. 


G^^9 


I 
I'  I 


■4* 


?^ 


Sar^i 


GROSSBREITENBACH. 


KLOSTER  VEILSDORF, 
coat  of  arms,  often  with 
C.  V.  added. 


VEILSDORF. 


VEILSDORF, 

another  mark. 


ANSBACH. 


ANSBACH,    often   with   the 
letter  A  joined. 


ANSBACH. 


ANSBACH. 


GOTHA. 


GERA. 


GERA. 


ALT-HALDENSLEBEN, 
h.  p.     M.  Nathusius. 


CHARLOTTENBURGi  i. 
1790.     M.  Pressel. 


BADEN,  E.  1793. 

Cut  of  an  axe  in  gold. 


COELN, 


M.  Cremer. 


POPPELSDORF, 

M.  Wessel. 


STRASSBURG,  lately  so 
marked. 


NIEDERVILLERS,  i.  1768, 
h  p.    F.  Lanfray. 


.,oTn,o«tH  SAARGEMUNDDep'tof  the 
UeulUie&      Moselle.    M.  Utz-Schneider 


SWITZERLAND, 


z 


NYON,  h.  p.,  1.  17£ 


ZURICH,  h.  p.,  i.  1763,  blue 
mark. 


MARKS,    MONOGRAMS,    ETC. 


347 


RUSSIA. 


fCarx^i; 


POLBN,  h.  p.  manufacturer. 
Korzec,  1803. 


_ 


ELBOGBN,  li.  p.    In  Bohe- 
mia marked  Haidinger. 


COPENHAaEN,  i.  1772. 
h.  p. 


SCHLACKENWALD,  h.  p. 

1812,  ill  gold. 


LE  HAMMER,  h.  p. 

stamxjed. 


"2Y 


MOSKAU.    Apapore. 


St.  PETERSBURa, 
blue  mark. 


St.  PETERSBURG,  1.  1762. 
Katharina. 


St.  PETERSBURG,   Mono- 
gram Nikolus  d.  1st  1828. 


St.  PETERSBURG. 


HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM. 


'^mdh-B 

AMSTERDAM,  h.  p.,  i.  1782. 
in  blue. 

« 

TOURKAT,  s.  p. 

J^ 

AMSTERDAM,  h.  p. 
in  blue. 

MM. 

AMSTERDAM,  blue  mark. 

TOURNAY,  s.  p. 

another  mark. 

% 

9 

TOUR]S"AT,  s.  p.,  i.  1750. 
This  mark  is  a  kiln. 

% 

LA  HATE,  h.  p. 

gray  mark. 

SPAIN  AND  ITALY. 


OK 


SJff 

OF.L 


c^ 


VA 


^ 


MADRID.    Buen  Xetiro 
s.  p.,  i.  1759. 


MADRID,  cheap  kind. 


MADRID,   s.  p.  blue  mark, 
best  quality. 


MADRID,  s.  p.  best  quality. 


MADRID,  Monogramm 
Karls  in.  of  Grllnders. 


JVISTA  ALEGRE,  h.   p.  in 
gold  or  colors. 


Afo-' 


\^a^ 


LE  NOVB,  s.  p.  blue  or  red 
mark. 


VENICE,  red  mark. 


VENICE. 


VENICE,  h.  p. 


^p. 


'^a 


w 


omojii 


Mila 


no 


VENICE,  s.  p.  red  mark. 


TURIN,  h.  p.  conducted  by 
Dr.  Gioanetti. 


VINEUE  near  TURIN,  1. 
J  750. 


DOCCIA,  h.  &  s.  p.  1727. 


DOCCIA,  i.  1727. 


DOCCIA,  pressed  mark,  1770. 


NAPLES,  s.  p.,  i.  1759,  A. 

1821. 


NAPLES,  s.  p.  decorated  or 
painted. 


NAPLES. 


MILAN,  red  mark. 


Note. — The  abbreviations  are :  h.  p.  hard  paste;  s.  p.  soft  paste;  i.  introduced. 


348 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


CHEONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  THE  SEYRES  PEODUCTIONS. 


MARKS. 

Year. 

M  A  K  K  S . 

Yeae. 

A  Viucennes, 

1753 

HH   .    .    .    . 

1785 

B 

1754 

II 

1786 

C 

1755 

JJ   . 

1787 

D  .    ... 

1756 

KK   . 

1788 

E  . 

1757 

LL   . 

1789 

F  . 

1758 

MM  . 

1790 

G  . 

1759 

NN  . 

1791 

H. 

1760 

00   . 

1792 

I  . 

1761 

PP 

1793 

J  . 

1762 

QQ 

1794 

K  . 

1763 

RR 

1795 

L  . 

1764 

T9 

1801 

M. 

1765 

X 

1802 

N  . 

1766 

H 

^ 

•  1803 

0  . 

1767 

II 

1804 

P  . 

1768 

1 

1805 

Q. 

1769 

= 

1806 

R  . 

1769-70 

7 

1807 

S  . 

1771 

8 

1808 

T  . 

1772 

9 

1809 

U  . 

1773 

10 

1810 

V  . 

1774 

0.  z. 

1811 

X. 

1775 

d.  z. 

1812 

Y  . 

1776 

t.  z. 

1813 

Z  . 

1777 

q.  z. 

1814 

AA 

1778 

q.  n. 

1815 

BE 

1779 

s,  z. 

1816 

CC 

1780 

d.  s. 

1817 

DD 

1781 

18 

1818 

EE 

1782 

19 

1819 

FF 

1783 

20 

1820 

GG 

• 

1784 

21  etc., 

1821 

CHEONICLE    or   TPIE    PRINCIPAL   EVENTS,    ETC.  349 


CHRONICLE  OF  THE  PRmCIPAL  EVENTS  DIRECTLY  COfflECTED  WITH 
THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  POTTERY. 


B.  C.  600  to  900  years.  Manufacture  of  enamelled  bricks  in  Nineveh  and 
Babylon.  The  Museum  of  Practical  Geology,  London,  contains 
several  specimens  of  enamelled  bricks  from  Babylon,  dating 
some  600  to  900  years  before  Christ. 

B.  C.  186.  Manufacture  of  j)orcelain  supposed  to  have  commenced  in 
China  between  this  date  and  A.  D.  87,  during  the  Han  dynasty. 

A.  D.  600.  Porcelain  in  common  use  in  China,  and  supposed  to  have 
reached  its  greatest  perfection  about  the  year  1000. 

1115.  Moorish  tiles  probably  introduced  in  Italy  at  the  conquest  of  Ma- 
jorca by  the  Pisans. 

1200-1300.    Colored  tiles  believed  to  have  been  in  common  use  in  Persia. 

1273-1302.    Earliest  tiles  of  the  Alhambra. 

1310.   Delft  ware  successfully  manufactured  in  Holland. 

Incised  or  SgriflSLato  ware  largely  produced  by  the  Italian  artists. 

1400.  Luca  della  Robbia  born  ;  the  sculptor,  painter  on  faience,  modeller 
in  bronze,  and  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  to  employ  stan- 
niferous glazes  in  Italy. 

Encaustic  tiles  manufactured  in  Great  Britain,  at  Malvern  Hills 
and  other  localities. 

1475.  Earliest  date  noticed  on  any  piece  of  lustred  Majolica  of  the  man- 
ufacture of  Maestro  Georgio.  Fortnum  considers  a  piece  in  the 
Serves  Museum,  dated  1489,  to  be  the  earliest  piece  of  lustred 
ware  on  record. 

1500.  About  this  time  oriental  porcelain  was  imported  to  Europe  by  the 
Venetians  and  Portuguese,  and  in  the  following  century  the 
Dutch  imported  great  quantities. 

1510.  Bernard  Palissy  born  about  this  date,  at  La  Chapelle  Biron,  Peri- 
gord. 

1540-1560.    Manufacture  of  majolica  in  a  flourishing  state. 

1540-1620.  Flemish  ware,  commonly  known  as  Gres  de  Flandres,  in 
great  esteem  in  Great  Britain. 

1580.  About  this  date,  the  earliest  known  production  in  Europe  of  pieces 
of  porcelain  in  the  laboratory  of  Duke  Francesco  de'  Medici  at 
Florence. 


350  EXPOSITION  '  AT    VIENNA. 

1581.  Soft  porcelain  cliscoverecl  in  Italy  by  Francis,  Grand  Duke  of  Tus- 
cany. 

1585.    Gold  purple  or  x^recijDitate  of  cassius  discovered. 

1589.    Palissy  died  in  confinement  in  the  Bastile. 

1671.  Earliest  efforts  to  manufactui'e  Porcelain  in  England,  by  Mr.  John 
Dwight,  at  Fulham. 

1674    Manufacture  of  pottery  established  in  Liverpool  before  this  date. 

1680.  Salt  glazing  said  to  have  been  discovered  in  Stafi'ordshire  by  acci- 
dent. 

1690.    Crouch  ware  first  made  by  Burslem  potters. 

Dresden  (Meissen)  porcelain  manufactory  established  by  Augustus 
II.,  Elector  of  Saxony. 

1706.  Conmiencement  of  the  experiments  of  Tschirnhaus  and  Bottcher, 
two  alchemists  in  the  service  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  leading 
to  the  production  by  Bottcher  of  the  first  hard  or  true  porcelain 
in  Euroj)e,  but  of  a  dark  color. 

1709.  White  porcelain  made  by  Bottcher. 

1710.  Bottcher  appointed  director  of  the  manufactory  at  Meissen. 
1715.    White  porcelain  of  good  quality  commonly  made. 

1720.    Paintings  on  porcelain,  and  gilding,  produced  at  Meissen. 

1730.  Josiah  Wedgwood  born  at  Burslem,  England ;  died  1795. 
Bow  works,  England,  commenced  manufacture  of  j)orcelain. 

1731.  Kandler,  the  sculptor,  superintended  the  modelling  of  groups  and 

figures  at  Meissen. 

1744.  St.  Petersburg  porcelain  works  founded  by  the  Baron  Ivan  Anti- 

novitsh. 

1745.  Cookworthy  in  a  letter  mentions  that  a  person  had  discovered  both 

kaolin  and  petuntse  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  and  had  made  from 
them  specimens  of  porcelain.  The  same  party  jDrofessed  to  have 
purchased  the  whole  region  from  the  Indians. 

1747.    Porcelain  woi'ks  of  Blanquier,  Vienna,  Austria,  jourchased  by  the 
Empress  Maria  Theresa,  and  made  an  imperial  establishment. 
Porcelain  works  established  at  Neudeck,  Bavaria. 

1750.  Decoration  of  earthenware  and  porcelain  by  transfer  from  copper- 
plate prints,  believed  to  have  originated  with  John  Sadler,  of 
Liverpool. 

Swansea  earthenware  works  established. 

From  about  this  date  the  true  Sevres  pate  tendre  was  manufactured 
with  habitual  success. 

Manufacture  of  porcelain  commenced  at  Berlin  by  Wegely. 


CHRONICLE    OF   PRINCIPAL   EVENTS,    ETC.  351 

1751.    Worcester  porcelain  works  established  at  Worcester,  England. 

Fomidation  of  the  Derby  porcelain  works,  England,  by  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Duesbury. 

1755.  Discovery  of  kaolin  in  Cornwall,  by  William  Cookworthy,  whose 

attention  appears  to  have  been  directed  to  the  subject  by  a  citi- 
zen of  Virginia,  in  1745. 

Works  established  at  Coxside,  Plymouth,  England,  by  Cookworthy 
and  Lord  Camelford,  about  1765,  soon  after  the  discovery  of  the 
materials  at  Cornwall.     Transferred  to  Bristol,  1774. 

1756.  Porcelain  works  removed  from  St.  Cloud  to  Sevres. 

Manufacture  of  porcelain  attempted  at  Lowestoft.  1770-1800  pe- 
riod of  greatest  jprosperity.    Works  abandoned  in  1802. 

1757.  Rockingham  porcelain  and  brownware  made  at  Swintou,  on  estate 

of  Charles,  Marquis  of  Rockingham. 

1758.  Neudeck  manufactory,  Bavaria,  ti'ansferred  to  Nymphenburg,  near 

Munich, 

1760.    Louis  XV.  became  proprietor  of  the  Sevres  establishment. 

Isle  worth  pottery  established  by  Joseph  Shore,  of  Worcester.  . 

1763.    Frederic  II.  bought  the  Berlin  porcelain  works  and  converted  thefla 
into  a  royal  manufactory. 

1765.  Discovery  of  kaolin  in  France,  by  Guettard,  who  gave  an  account 

of  it  in  this  year  to  the  Academie  des  Sciences. 

1766.  Kaolin  was  found  near  Limoges  at  St.  Yrieix,  in  abundance  and  of 

good  quality. 

1769.    Hard  body  porcelain  introduced  at  Sevres  manufactory. 

1772.   Porcelain  of  superior  quality  manufactured  at  the  Shropshire  jjot- 
teries,  under  Thomas  Turner,  from  the  Worcester  works. 

1795.  Pinxton  porcelain  works    established    near    Alfreton,    England. 

Closed  about  1812. 
Wedgwood  died. 

1796.  The  "Marcolini  period"  at  Meissen  commenced. 

1800.    Calcined  bones  introduced  by  Spode  into  the  paste  of  his  porcelain 
at  Stoke-upon-Trent,  England. 

1812.  Inspection  of  the  j)orcelain  works  at  Meissen  by  M.  Brongiart,  on 

the  requisition  of  Napoleon  I.     The  greatest  secrecy  maintained 
until  that  time. 

1813.  Nantgarw  (near  Cardiff)  porcelain  manufactory  established. 

1840.   Foundation  of  the  tile  manufacture  of  the  Mintons,  Stoke-upon- 
Trent,  England. 

1864.    The  Austrian  imperial  porcelain  works  discontinued. 


352  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


TITLES  OF  WORKS  ON  POTTERY  AM)  PORCELAm  CONSULTED  IN 
THE  PREPARATION  OF  THIS  REPORT 


Brongniart,  Alexandre.  Traite  des  Arts  Ceramiques  ou  cles  Poteries, 
etc.     Two  volumes,  and  atlas.     Paris,  1844. 

Argyll.  Rejjort  on  Ceramic  Manufactures,  Exhibition  of  1851.  Reports 
of  the  Juries,  class  xxv.     p.  538. 

Ebelmen  and  Salvetat.  Arts  Ceramiques,  par  Feu  M.  Ebelmen, 
Administrateur  de  la  Manufacture  Imperiale  de  Porcelaine  de 
Sevres.  Et  par  M.  Salvetat,  chimiste  de  la  manufacture  impe- 
riale de  Sevres.  In  Travaux  de  la  Commission  Francaise  sur 
rindustrie  des  Nations.     1851,  t.  vi.    XXV.  Jury. 

Great  Exhibition,  London,  1851.  Official  Descriptive  and  Illustrated 
Catalogue.     Three  volumes. 

International  Exhibition,  1862.  Official,  Illustrated  Catalogue.  Four 
volumes.     London. 

Meteyard,  Life  of  Wedgwood.    Two  volumes.    London,  1865. 

Salvetat.  Report  on  the  Manufacture  of  Vitrifiable  colors,  made  in  the 
name  of  the  Committee  of  Ceramic  Art  to  the  Societe  cVEncour- 
agement  pour  rinchist?He  Nationale.    Aug.,  1865. 

Arnoux,  Leon.  Report  on  the  Pottery,  Paris  Exposition,  1867.  British 
Reports,  Vol.  II.,  p.  391. 

Bonneville,  Paul.  Fabrication  des  Briques  et  des  Tulles.  Article  Ixx. 
in  Vol.  VII.  of  Etudes  sur  I'Exposition.  E.  Lacroix,  Paris,  1867- 
1869.     8vo.,  with  atlas. 

Chandelon,  M.,  Prof.  Terres  cuites  et  gr^s.  Section  1  of  the  Report 
on  Class  17.  Rapports  du  Jury  International,  Paris  Exposition. 
1867,  iii.,  p.  100. 

Cole,  W.  Henry,  C.  B.  Report  on  Terra-Cotta,  Paris  Exposition,  1867, 
British  Reports,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  415-423. 

Dommartin,  M.  F.  Porcelaines  Bures,  Paris  Exposition,  1867.  Report 
in  the  Rapports  du  Jury  International,  t.  iii.,  Classe  17,  Section 
iii.,  p.  169. 


TITLES    OF   WORKS,    ETC.  353 

GiRARD,  AiME.  Faiences  fines  et  porcelaines  lendres,  Paris  Exposition 
of  1867.  Sect.  II.  of  Report  on  Class  17,  Rapports  du  Jury  in- 
ternational, iii.,  p.  115. 

Arnoux,  Leon,  Esq.  Report  on  Miscellaneous  Pottery  in  the  London 
International  Exhibition  of  1871.  Ofl&eial  Reports  (British), 
Vol.  I.,  pp.  279-304. 

Da  VIES,  Lieutenant  J.  G.  S.,  R.  E.  Report  on  Stoneware,  London  Inter- 
national Exposition  of  1871.  Official  Reports  [British],  Vol.  I., 
pp.  305-314. 

De  la  Beche,  Sir  Henry,  and  Trenham  Reeks.  Catalogue  of  Speci- 
mens in  the  Museum  of  Practical  Geology,  illustrative  of  the 
Composition  and  Manufacture  of  British  Pottery  and  Porcelain. 
Second  Edition  of  T.  Reeks  and  F.  W.  Rudler,  London,  1871. 

FORTNUM,  C.  Drury,  Esq.,  F.  S.  A.  Report  on  Earthenware  in  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  of  1871.  Official  Reports  (British),  Vol.  I., 
pp.  223-241. 

Grovkr,  Lieutenant  G.  E.,  R.  E  Report  on  Fire  Clay  Goods.  Official 
(British)  Reports,  International  Exhibition,  1871, 1.,  pp.  333-344. 

Magniac,  Charles,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  and  R.  H.  Goden  Smith,  F.  S.  A.  Re- 
port on  Porcelain  in  the  International  Exhibition  of  1871.  Offi- 
cial Reports  (British),  Vol.  I.,  pp.  243-278. 

Redgrave,  Gilbert  R.,  Esq.  Rejjort  on  Terra-Cotta,  Bricks,  Encaustic 
and  other  Tiles,  to  the  International  Exhibition  of  1871.  Official 
Reports  (British),  Vol.  I.,  pp.  315-332. . 

Beckwith,  Arthur.  Pottery.  Observations  on  the  materials  and  man- 
ufacture of  Terra-Cotta,  Stoneware,  Fire-brick,  Porcelain, 
Earthenware,  Brick,  Majolica  and  Encaustic  Tiles.    8vo.    -p.  103. 

D.  Van  Nostrand,  New  York,  1872. 

Hunt,  Robert,  F.  R.  S.  Mineral  Statistics  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  for  the  year  1871.  Memoirs  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  Great  Britain.    8vo.    London,  1872. 

Barth,  Carl.  Autiquitatenhandler-Porzellan-Marken  und  Monogramme. 
(Broadside  lithograph,  mounted  for  the  pocket.)  Stuttgart. 
Alfred  Bruchmann.     (3d  edition,  1873.) 

Belgium.  Catalogue  des  Produits  Industriels  et  des  (Euvres  d'Art. 
Exposition  Universelle  de  Vienne  en  1873. 

Habermann,  Dr.  George.  Porzellan-,  Thon-,  und  Glas-Industrie. 
(Austria.)  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  der  Gewerbe  und  Erfind- 
ungen  Oesterreichs.     Wien,  1873. 

Maiolica  Hispano-Moreso,  Persian,  Damascus  and  Rhodian  wares  in 
the  South  Kensington  Museum.    Descriptive  Catalogue,  etc.,  by 

E.  Drury  Fortnum,  F.  S.  A.    London,  1873. 

45 


354  '     EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA.- 

Owen,  Hugh,  F.  S.  A.  Two  centuries  of  Ceramic  Art  in  Bristol ;  being 
a  history  of  the  manufacture  of  The  True  Porcelain,  by  Richard 
Champion,  etc.,  etc.  Large  8vo.  Printed  privately  for  the 
author.     Gloucester,  1873. 

Prussia  and  Germany.  Amtlicher  Katalog  der  Austellung  (Wiener 
Weltaustellung,  1873)  des  Deutschen  Reiches.    Berlin,  1873. 

Sweden.  Schweden,  Weltaustellung  1873  in  Wien  Statistische  Mittheil- 
ungen,  etc.    8vo.     Stockholm,  1873. 

WiENERBERGER  ZlEGELSFABRIKS   Und  BAU-GESSELLSCHAFT  ZUR  zcit  der 

Wiener  Weltaustellung,  1873.    8vo.     p.  92.     Wien,  1873. 

Locke,  Edward!  Ceramic  Ware.  (In  the  Artisan's  Reports  upon  the 
Vienna  Exhibition  qf  1873.  pp.  151-191.)  Manchester,  1874. 
8vo. 

Lacroix,  a.  Practical  Insti-uctions  for  Painting  on  China,  Earthenware, 
Glass  and  Enamel.  Translated  from  the  French  of  Des  Couleurs 
Vitrijiables  of  A.  Lacroix,  with  additions  by  Aural.  Pamphlet. 
Lechertier,  Barbe  &  Co.,  60  Regent  Street,  London,    p.  55. 

Science  and  Art  Department,  Great  Britain.  Classified  list  of  Pho- 
tographs of  Pottery,  Porcelain  and  Glass  objects.  Published  by 
the  Arundel  Society  for  promoting  the  knowledge  of  Art.  Lon- 
don.   8vo.    No  date. 

South  Kensington  Museum.  Guide  to  the,  etc.  8vo.  Pamphlet. 
Loudon. 


EEPOET   or   ME.    "VV.    J.    STILLMAN.  355 


PHOTOGEAPHI  AT  THE  EXHIBITION  OE  VIENNA. 


BY    W.    J.    STILLMAN. 


Geoup  XII. 

Amongst  the  industrial  products  collected  at  Vienna,  and 
which,  owing  to  a  bad  arrangement  of  the  contributions,  were 
deprived  of  an  adequate  presentation,  perhaps  the  least  cared 
for,  considering  the  prominence  which  it  has  attained  of  late 
in  many  scientific  and  industrial  undertakings,  was  photogra- 
phy. Its  position,  half-way  between  art  and  manufacture,  is 
one  which  explains,  perhaps,  this  want  of  attention ;  for  art 
had  its  separate  quarters,  and  photography,  too  much  depend- 
ent on  the  capacities  of  individuals  and  unadapted  to  the 
arrangements  of  the  great  industries,  had  no  collective  inter- 
est to  be  looked  after  or  national  advantage  to  be  subserved 
by  bringing  it  prominently  before  the  public.  Yet  it  is  safe 
to  say,  that  if  due  regard  had  been  given  to  the  immense 
range  of  subjects  of  absorbing  attraction  and  scientific  value, 
over  which  it  has  extended  itself  since  the  last  great  interna- 
tional industrial  gathering,  and  the  proper  steps  had  been 
taken  to  bring  together  a  complete  collection  of  its  products, 
the  world  would  have  been  astonished  at  the  results  which 
have  grown  out  of  what,  within  the  memory  of  the  present 
generation,  was  only  a  curious  phenomenon  of  the  action  of 
light  upon  certain  chemical  products,  of  scarcely  more  prom- 
ise of  commercial  value  than  the  spectrum  analysis  has  to-day. 
It  not  only  has  become  the  constant  and  indispensable  solace 
of  domestic  affections, — almost  as  wide-spread  and  cheap  as 
light  itself, — and  brought  reminders  and  lessons  of  art  to  the 
homes  of  the  millions,  but  it  has  become  the  infallible  record 
of  almost  all  physical  phenomena,  the  touchstone  of  astronom- 


356  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

ical  observation,  and  the  main  reliance  of  physico-chemical 
research.  It  promises  to  replace  all  the  more  tedious  pro- 
cesses connected  with  pictorial  reproduction  by  mechanical 
ones,  at  once  immeasurably  more  rapid  and  more  exact ;  and 
to  spread  the  cultivation  of  the  plastic  arts  to  an  extent  cer- 
tainly never  dreamed  of  by  the  most  devoted  enthusiast  fifty 
years  ago. 

In  reviewing  the  province  assigned  to  me,  it  seems  fitting 
to  divide  the  Report  into  two  parts, — one  on  the  negative  or 
primary  reproduction  in  which  the  image  is  first  secured  ;  and 
the  other  on  the  positive  or  multiplying  methods,  in  which 
will  be  included  all  the  new  printing  processes.  The  quest  of 
that  philosopher's  stone  of  photography, — the  representation 
of  nature  in  her  actual  colors, — so  ardently  pursued  at  one 
time,  seems  to  have  been  in  a  great  measure  lost  sight  of; 
and,  without  assuming  such  a  knowledge  of  chemistrj'^  as 
should  pretend  to  recognize  a  limitation  of  its  resources,  it 
may  be  permitted  at  least  to  say,  that  until  new  conditions, 
as  yet  undreamed  of,  are  developed,  this  quest  must  remain 
a  fruitless  one.  The  simple  fact  that  the  photographic  efiect 
is  produced,  not  by  the  optical,  but  by  the  chemical  action  of 
light,  would  seem  to  debar  us  from  entertaining  any  hope 
that  color,  which  belongs  to  the  former,  should  ever  become 
an  attribute  to  the  latter,  in  the  sense  demanded  by  photo- 
graphy, and  the  equally  unquestionable  fact  that  the  sub- 
chloride  of  silver,  in  course  of  reduction  under  the  action  of 
light  transmitted  through  colored  media,  takes,  under  certain 
circumstances,  somewhat  of  the  color  of  those  media  (which 
is  the  only  phenomenon  so  far  recorded  tending  to  chromo- 
photography) ,  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  possibility  of  a 
sequential  reproduction  of  colors,  as  this  solitary  phenom- 
enon may  be  (and  probably  is)  merely  a  case  of  coincident 
iridescence,  the  sub-chloride  passing  through  the  different 
primary  tints  in  the  course  of  its  further  reduction ;  which 
conclusion  is  practically  established  by  the  final  reduction  of 
the  chloride  to  the  usual  monochrome  by  the  continual  actian 
of  light,  and  the  impossibility  of  rendering  permanent  the 
tints  so  obtained.  So  far,  chemistry  has  given  no  hint  of  a 
process  for  practically  reproducing  color  ;  and  the  phenomena 
of  this  class  which  have  been  produced  are,  by  their  fugitive 


REPORT   OF   MR.    W.    J.    STILLMAN.  357 

character,  not  subjects  for  an  exhibition,  much  less  of  com- 
mercial value. 

The  original  daguerreotype  was  a  positive  photograph,  in- 
capable of  multiplication  ;   but  the  law  of  the  reduction  of 
silver,  under  the  joint  action  of  light  and  a  developing  agent, 
having  once  been  made  known,  practical  investigators  soon 
worked  out  the  bases  of  the  negative  processes  now  in  use, — 
the  first  being  the  paper  process,  introduced  by  Talbot,  and 
now  abandoned   except  by  amateurs,  who  find   its  pictorial 
advantages  and  practical  convenience  more  than  a  compensa- 
tion for  the  greater   delicacy  and  perfection    of  the    detail 
which  are  obtained  by  the  processes  which  employ  a  film  of 
the  sensitive  salts  spread  on  glass.     There  was  no  contribu- 
tion of  works  by  the  original  paper  process  in  the  Exhibition ; 
and  there   seems  never  to   have   been    any  serious    attempt 
made   to   produce   a   satisfactory  substitute   for   the   fragile 
glass, — the  precarious  foundation  of  all  our  present  effective 
processes.     With  the  introduction   of  the  collodion  process 
and  the  modifications  which  the  experience  of  photographers 
have  found  advisable,  progress   seems  to  have  stopped,  so 
that  most  of  the  work  shown  at  Vienna  is  produced  by  the 
wet  collodion  negative  process,  substantially  as  introduced  by 
Archer  in  England  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.     In  the 
many  and  useful  modifications  of  it,  the  English  photograph- 
ers, amateur  and  professional,  have  distinguished  themselves 
beyond  all  rivalry ;  and  especially  in  the  perfection  of  dry 
collodion  processes,  which,  for  all  out-of-door  work,  where 
portability  is  an  advantage,  for  tourists'  uses  and  for  archi- 
tects and  amateurs'  work  generally,  have  become  a  notable 
feature  in  the  status  of  the  art.     All  who  have  attempted  the 
manipulations    of  photography  under  the    difficulties  which 
portable    or  improvised    dark   rooms    present,   with  all   the 
chances  and  disasters  of  broken  apparatus, — chemicals  poured 
over  delicate  mechanism  and  mixed  in  waste, — or  who,  under 
urgent  need  of  working  at  inaccessible  stations,  have  found 
how  cumbersome  is  the  most  portable  apparatus  for  the  work- 
ing of  the  ordinary  process,  will  appreciate  the  desirability 
of  a  modification  of  it,  by  which  sensitive  films  of  equal  rapid- 
ity, capable  of  indefinite  preservation  and  always  ready  for 
use  without   the   necessity  of  apparatus  either  for  prepara- 


358  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

tion  or  development,  will  be  glad  to  know  that  these  condi- 
tions are  very  nearly  attained,  and  that  the  most  difficult 
part,  technically,  of  the  photographic  art  bids  fair  to  become 
superseded  by  trustworthy  manufacture  for  commercial  pur- 
poses. 

Several  manufacturers  in  England  now  send  sensitive  plates 
all  over  the  world,  and  one  of  them  especially,  the  "Liverpool 
Dry  Plate  Company,"  produces  them  of  so  great  certainty  and 
rapidity  of  action,  that  for  ordinary  uses,  and  especially  for 
landscape  work,  they  are  likely  to  supersede  the  common 
methods  of  working ;  while  another,  a  photographer  of  wide 
repute,  Colonel  Stuart  Wortley,  has  perfected  a  modification 
of  the  same  dry  process,  by  which  plates  of  great  rapidity  are 
produced,  and,  like  the  Liverpool  plates,  may  be  kept  indefi- 
nitely. 

A  scientific  expedition  starting  on  a  three  years'  voyage 
might  carry  with ,  it  plates  enough  to  suffice  for  all  its  pur- 
poses, and  carry  on  its  operations  without  any  of  the  incon- 
veniences which  travelling  photographic  laboratories  cause. 

The  advance  of  commercial  activity  in  this  direction  is  so 
great,  that  since  the  Exhibition  has  been  closed  a  new  facility 
for  scientific  photography  has  been  added  to  its  former  pro- 
ducts by  the  Liverpool  Dry  Plate  Company,  in  a  preparation 
containing  in  a  single  solution  all  the  elements  necessary  for 
photographic  results,  which  retains  for  an  indefinite  time  all 
its  qualities,  and  needs  only  to  be  applied  to  the  glass  and 
dried  to  be  ready  for  use. 

With  the  introduction  of  a  successful  substitute  for  glass 
the  commercial  preparation  of  sensitive  films,  for  photo- 
graphic uses,  will  become  so  satisfactory  that  for  all  but  por- 
trait or  other  localized  practitioners,  they  will  supersede  the 
preparations  of  the  photographers  themselves.  The  import- 
ance of  these  developments  of  photographic  industry  to  all 
kinds  of  scientific  research,  as  well  as  all  branches  of  picto- 
rial reproduction,  cannot  fail  to  strike  every  one,  and  there 
is  good  reason  to  hope  that  the  whole  of  the  desiderata  above 
mentioned  will  soon  be  attained. 

In  the  English  department  of  the  Exhibition  there  were 
some  frames  of  landscapes  of  a  very  high  excellence,  and 
some  large  heads  by  Colonel  Wortley,  all  on  dry  plates ;  and 


REPORT   OF   MR.    W.    J.    STILLMAN.  359 

since  the  opening  of  the  Exhibition  a  still  farther  improve- 
ment, in  the  substitution  of  gelatine  for  collodion  in  the 
preparation  of  dry  plates,  has  been  announced,  and  presented 
with  such  success  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  its  finally  supersed- 
ing collodion  for  this  purpose. 

In  the  important  department  of  the  apparatus  requisite  for 
photography,  there  was  little  to  represent  the  actual  state  of 
either  optical  construction  or  the  portable  appliances  which 
have  been  carried  to  so  high  a  perfection,  especially  in  Eng- 
land. A  single  case  of  the  work  of  George  Hare,  of  Lon- 
don, is  beyond  any  question  the  finest  display  of  common 
workmanship  and  general  good  construction  that  was  sent, 
and  fully  sustained  the  maker's  reputation  as  the  manufac- 
turer of  the  best  apparatus  of  this  kind  in  the  world ;  but 
from  the  English  opticians  now  at  the  head  of  the  trade, 
even  considering  the  great  continental  celebrities,  Steinheil 
and  Voightlander,  there  is  no  contribution.  No  representa- 
tion of  photographic  optics  could  to-day  be  given  which 
would  not  put  in  the  first  place  the  admirable  rectilinear 
lenses  of  Ross  and  Dallmeyer,  of  London,  which,  especially 
for  scientific  purposes,  where  correction  to  perfect  rectiline- 
arity  of  the  photographic  image  is  necessary,  are  incompar- 
able ;  and  have  long  been  recognized  as  such  even  by  the 
continental  photographers,  who  are  by  their  aid  enabled  to 
give  architectural  views  free  from  the  curvilinear  distortions 
formerly  always  present  in  this  class  of  work,  and  which 
were  consequent  on  the  use  of  the  old  view  lenses. 

A  complete  apparatus  for  microscopic  photography,  by 
Haack  of  Vienna,  was  a  most  admirable  piece  of  construc- 
tion, and  showed  proofs  of  enlargements  to  four  hundred 
diameters,  with  admirable  definition  and  flatness  oif  field. 

But  in  that  which  is  after  all  the  immediate  object  of  the 
most  arduous  study  on  the  part  of  investigators  in  photo- 
graphic reproduction,  the  printing  processes,  properly  so 
called,  that  is,  those  in  which  the  image  is  transferred  to  a 
surface  capable  of  producing  impressions  as  from  a  block, 
stone  or  plate,  the  Exhibition  contained  but  little,  though 
that  little  is  full  of  magnificent  promise. 

While  all  the  negative  processes  by  which  the  first  impres- 
sion from  nature  is  received  depend  on  the  action  of  light 


360  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

on  the  haloid  salts  of  silver, — an  action  so  subtle  and  imper- 
ceptible as  to  require  the  supplementary  force  of  a  reducing 
agent,  or  developer,  and  the  ordinary  silver  prints  being  the 
result  of  the  same  agency  without  this  supplementary  action, 
making  the  reproduction  of  the  impression  dependent  on  the 
uncertain  condition  of  weather, — the  printing  processes  depend 
on  a  preliminary  action  of  light  on  a  film  of  gelatine,  which, 
when  impregnated  with  a  chromate,  has  the  fortunate  faculty 
of  being  rendered  insoluble  by  the  influence  of  light,  and  the 
copies  are  then  produced  by  a  merely  mechanical  action. 
The  gelatine  film,  charged  with  the  bichromate,  is  exposed  to' 
light  under  a  negative ;  and  as  the  ray  penetrates  more  read- 
ily through  the  shadows  or  transparent  portions  of  the  nega- 
tive, these  become  indurated  and  repel  the  action  of  water. 
On  this  fact,  employed  in  several  ways,  the  diflerent  proc- 
esses are  based ;  *  one  employing  the  film  in  its  unequally 
softened  condition,  in  which  the  portions  imbued  with  water 
repel  the  printing  ink,  and  those  parts  which  were  protected 
by  the  denser  portions  of  the  negative  become  the  lights  of 
the  print,  the  indurated  portions  receiving  the  ink  in  propor- 
tion to  their  induration.  This,  with  various  provisions  for 
the  adhesion  of  the  gelatine  film  to  the  basis,  is  the  Albert- 
type,  of  which  some  examples  are  contributed  to  the  Exhibi- 
tion by  Herr  Albert,  of  a  size  hitherto  unknown  in  such  per- 
fection of  workmanship,  some  of  them  being  a  metre  in 
length,  portraits  in  life-size,  copies  of  pictures  and  drawings 
in  graduated  tints,  in  which  the  reproduction  is  simply  inca- 
pable of  being  bettered  for  large  prints. 

This  gelatine  film,  exposed  to  light,  as  indicated,  and  then 
subjected  to  the  action  of  moderately  warm  water,  has  the 
unindurated  portions  washed  away,  and,  on  drying,  becomes 
a  horny  pellicle,  with  the  subject  in  relief,  and  may  be  sep- 
arated from  the  support  used  in  printing  and  kept  between 
the  leaves  of  a  book  and  used  again  as  often  as  required, 
being  in  effect  insoluble  and  indestructible,  except  by  appli- 
cation of  a  force  not  required  in  printing.  In  this  state  it  is 
utilized  by  Mr.  "VVoodbuiy  in  his  photo-relief  process  (better 
known  by  the  name  of  its  inventor,  as  the  Woodbury-type) , 
by  producing,  under  hydraulic  pressure,  a  relief  in  soft 
metal,  which,  filled  with  a  transparent  gelatinous  ink  and  put 


REPORT    OP   MR.    ^Y.    J.    STILLMAN.  361 

under  gentle  pressure  on  paper,  produces  a  print  equal  in 
every  respect  to  the  best  produced  by  any  photographic  proc- 
ess, with  a  texture  and  gradation  absolutely  more  delicate 
than  the  most  carefully  printed  silver  prints  under  any  condi- 
tions whatever.  This  process  is  the  solution  of  one  of  the 
most  interesting  practical  problems  ever  developed  in  photo- 
graphic industry,  and  the  results,  within  the  limits  of  size  de- 
pendent on  the  hydraulic  pressure  available,  are,  for  cer- 
tainty, equality  of  result,  and  beauty,  quite  unrivalled  in 
pictorial  art.  The  limitations  of  hydraulic  power  have,  so 
far,  kept  these  prints  down  to  the  size  of  twelve  by  ten 
inches, — not,  of  course,  to  be  judged  with  the  immense  prints 
of  Herr  Albert, — but  they  have  the  advantage  over  those  of 
all  other  processes,  that  they  give  gradation  without  any 
grain,  and  perfect  uniformity  of  result, — a  point  not  yet 
attained  by  any  of  the  rival  processes,  in  most  of  which  the 
perfect  result  is  exceptional.  The  action  of  the  Woodbury 
press  is  so  equal  and  certain  that,  once  the  metal  intaglio  is 
obtained,  the  merest  tyro  can  print  more  rapidly  than  the 
most  experienced  printers  can  produce  ordinary  lithographs. 
This  structureless  film  of  tinted  gelatine,  when  put  on  glass, 
forms  transparencies,  which,  for  the  magic-lantern,  for  repro- 
duction of  the  negative,  for  scientific  purposes,  for  the  pro- 
duction of  enlarged  diagrams,  etc.,  is  almost  without  limit  in 
the  power  of  enlargement ;  and  its  advantages  over  the  gran- 
ular film  of  the  common  collodion  transparency,  or  even  the- 
albumen  film  prepared  with  silver,  is  evident  at  once  on 
seeing  the  enlarged  image. 

The  delicate  relief  of  gelatine,  when  dried,  is  subjected  to> 
the  pressure  of  several  tons  per  square  inch„and  is  completely 
imbedded  in  the  soft  metal,  without  the  slightest  injury  from 
the  pressure,  and  may  be  used  again  and  again  to  produce 
duplicate  moulds.  This  film,  though,  as  will  be  understood,, 
relieved  only  on  one  side,  may  be  reversed,  and  the  relief 
forced,  through  itself,  to  appear  on  the  previously  plane  side, 
without  destroying  its  value  or  injuring  its  detail, — a  quality 
which,  it  will  be  seen,  adapts  the  process  to  negatives,  taken 
either  direct  or  reversed. 

The  Woodbury-type  is,  of  all  forms  of  the  mechanical  pro- 
duction   of  photographic  prints,  the  most   fitting   for  book 

46 


362  EXPOSITION   AT   YIENNA. 

illustrations,  with  the  exception  of  such  illustrations  as  re- 
quire a  considerable  extent  of  white  ungraduated  surface,  on 
which  the  gelatinous  ink  will  leave  marks, — the  result  of  its 
imperfect  expulsion  from  the  two  plane  surfaces  in  contact. 
In  reproduction  of  drawings,  therefore,  and  wherever  broad, 
white  masses  are  included,  the  Albert-type  and  its  analogous 
process,  the  Heliotype,  have  a  decided  advantage,  as  well  as 
in  the  almost  unlimited  size  of  which  they  may  be  produced. 
The  Heliotype  differs  in  several  important  particulars  from 
the  Albert-type,  or  its  close  relative,  Lichtdruck.  The  latter 
have  a  gelatine,  or  gelatine  and  albumen,  film  supported  on  a 
plate  of  glass  ;  the  former  employs  a  film  entirely  detached, 
and  only  temporarily  laid  on  a  metallic  or  other  basis  while 
being  printed  from.  The  sheet  of  gelatine  which  is  employed 
for  the  printing  material  in  the  Albert-type  receives  the  image 
on  its  outer  surface,  which  is  necessarily  more  liable  to  acci- 
dental imperfections  than  the  under  surface  or  that  which  is 
formed  by  the  glass  on  which  the  gelatine  is  spread,  which  is 
employed  in  the  Heliotype  ;  and  the  flexibility  of  the  detached 
film  is  of  the  highest  value  in  receiving  the  impressions  from 
the  negative,  insuring  perfect  contact  between  the  negative 
and  sensitive  film,  scarcely  to  be  obtained  when  the  latter  is 
on  a  rigid  material. 

This,  and  the  analogous  processes,  are  in  comparative  in- 
fancy yet;  but  we  have  already  results  produced  by  them, 
which,  in  certain  directions,  are  hardly  capable  of  very  ma- 
terial improvement ;  and,  when  the  conditions  of  certainty 
and  excellence  are  absolutely  determined,  we  may  expect  to 
see  the  splendid  results  of  photography  made  more  accessible 
than  those  of  any^other  form  of  pictorial  reproduction. 

The  accidental  employment  of  a  granular  pigment  in  the 
gelatine  used  for  making  the  relief  in  the  Woodbury  process 
led  to  the  discovery  that  in  this  way  a  grain  maybe  produced 
similar  to  that  of  a  mezzotint  engraving ;  and  this  was  in- 
geniously developed  by  Mr.  Woodbury  into  an  admirable 
substitute  for  that  kind  of  engraving.  The  film  of  gelatine, 
which  was  exposed  under  the  negative,  w^as  prepared  with  a 
granular  substance  of  various  degrees  of  fineness,  so  arranged 
that  the  coarser  particles  are  on  the  side  to  be  placed  oppo- 
site the  negative,  and  the  finest  next  to  it ;  which  is  readily 


REPORT   OF   MR.    W.    J.    STILLMAN.  363 

eflfected  by  allowing  the  granular  substance  to  depose  gradu- 
ally in  the  fluid  gelatine,  so  that,  when  the  film  has  been  ex- 
posed, the  induration  caused  by  light  penetrates  to  the 
coarser  deposit,  which  elsewhere  is  washed  away,  leaving  the 
coarseness  of  grain  in  the  result  proportional  to  the  depth  of 
induration,  i.  e.,  to  the  transparency  of  the  negative;  and,  as 
this  is  in  the  shadows,  of  course  the  photo-engraving  plate 
produced  by  electro-deposit,  Avill  have  the  desired  granula- 
tion more  strongly  marked  as  the  shadows  are  deeper. 

The  results  of  this  process,  in  the  hands  of  a  French  firm 
who  are  working  it  commercially,  rival  in  eflect  and  far  sur- 
pass in  fidelity  the  best  mezzotint  engraving. 

The  chromatized  gelatine,  charged  with  such  color  as  may 
be  desired,  becomes  also  the  basis  of  a  light-printing  process, 
long  known  as  the  Autotype,  in  which  a  tissue  prepared  for 
the  purpose  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  light  under  the  nega- 
tive ;  and  then,  being  immersed  in  tepid  water,  the  unindu- 
rated  gelatine  is  washed  away,  carrying  the  color  with  it  and 
leaving  the  protected  parts  of  the  tissue  thin  and  colorless  in 
proportion  to  their  degree  of  protection. 

Any  tint  or  pigment  may  be  employed.  This  process, 
however,  from  the  fact  of  its  continual  dependence  on  light, 
each  impression  being  produced  from  the  negative  as  in  the 
chloride  of  silver  process  of  printing,  can  hardly  be  expected 
to  maintain  a  permanent  footing  beside  the  mechanical  proc- 
esses. The  Autotype  Company,  however,  have  developed 
another  admirable  use  for  this  gelatine  tissue,  by  preparing  it 
with  a  strong  color  and  then  supporting  it  by  glass  instead 
of  paper,  so  that,  on  development,  it  makes  a  transparency 
with  all  the  exquisite  delicacy  of  detail  and  gradation  which 
have  been  alluded  to  as  belonging  to  the  gelatine  film. 
From  this,  by  an  enlarging  camera,  a  new  negative  is  made 
of  any  required  dimensions,  preferably  not  to  exceed  eight 
diameters  of  the  original  negative,  the  enlarged  prints  thus 
produced  having  a  charm  quite .  unique ;  and  if  the  original 
negative  was  well  calculated  for  the  purpose,  with  no  loss  of 
any  of  the  qualities  most  desirable  in  a  photograph.  By  this 
application  of  the  various  facilities  drawn  from  the  optical, 
chemical  and  mechanical  resources  of  photography,  the  small- 
est apparatus  which  it  is  desirable  to  use  may  be  made  to 


364  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

produce  results  scarcely  inferior  to  those  formerly  obtained 
by  the  ponderous  and  expensive  apparatus  in  use  for  the 
large  photographs,  which  are  so  much  in  vogue  and  so  admi- 
rable when  judiciously  executed. 

It  will  not  escape  attention  that,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
results  of  photographic  science  and  art  are  so  cheapened  and 
perfected  as  to  come  almost  within  the  cost  of  the  most  im- 
perfect manual  methods  of  pictorial  reproduction ;  and  on  the 
other,  that  the  processes  which  are  the  means  of  the  art  have 
been  so  far  simplified  and  reduced  to  the  condition  of  com- 
mercial productions,  that  neither  lack  of  time  nor  technical 
training  need  prevent  any  person  having  even  a  low  average 
of  manual  dexterity  from  becoming,  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses, a  successful  photographer.  There  remains  one  impor- 
tant desideratum,  already  alluded  to  (a  substitute  for  glass), 
with  the  attainment  of  which  photography  can  place  in  the 
hands  of  every  person  of  average  intelligence  and  taste,  most 
portable  means  of  making,  at  an  expense  of  time  and  trouble 
qyite  trivial,  representations  more  accurate  than  art  can  pro- 
duce, of  all  visible  objects  which  come  witliin  the  chromatic 
conditions  imposed. 

The  weight  of  glass  and  the  liability  to  fracture  of  the 
negatives  when  finished,  have  been  the  great  drawbacks  to 
the  use  of  photography  in  remote  and  not  easily  accessible 
regions ;  but  even  with  this  drawback,  a  tourist  may  carry 
literally  in  his  pockets,  photographic  apparatus,  with  dry 
plates,  sufficient  to  do  all  the  work  required  in  many  days, 
and  without  exceeding  the  weight  one  man  could  carry  on 
his  back,  enough  of  all  material  required  to  cross  a  continent 
on  foot  and  secure  negatives  of  a  small  but  available  size  of 
every  object  most  worthy  reproducing,  up  to  several  hun- 
dreds, and  these  may  be  reproduced  in  a  most  perfect  and 
superb  manner  at  a  cost  of  less  than  one  cent  each  to  the 
producers. 

Eegarded  from  this  point  of  view  it  would  seem  that  pho- 
tography need  not  go  much  farther ;  but  we  may  confidently 
expect  that  even  this  will  be  inefficience  compared  with  what 
will  be  done  when  what  is  now  being  sought  for  is  attained. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Exhibition  about  to  be  held  in 
Philadelphia  will  not  let  the  opportunity  be   lost  of  doing 


REPORT    or   MR.    W.    J.    STILLMAN.  365 

what  Yiemia  so  signally  failed  in,  bringing  together  and  so 
systematically  arranging  the  results  of  photography  that  they 
can  be  seen  and  understood  at  a  view  ;  and  we  shall  see  how 
large  a  place  in  the  world  of  industry  the  last  of  the  arts  has 
made,  and  how  fully  it  supplements  the  others  ;  and,  highest 
of  all  its  uses,  serves  as  the  link  between  art  and  science, 
the  interpreter  and  aid  of  both  alike,  the  automatic  record 
of  all  things,  least  and  greatest,  that  the  sun  has  looked  on 
and  science  made  known. 

W.  J.  STILLMAN. 


366  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENN.'i. 


ON  BUILDING  AND  AECHITECTUEE. 


BY     NELSON     L.     DERBY.* 


Group  XVIII. 

Ill  no  capital  of  Europe  is  such  an  amount  of  building 
going  on  at  the  present  moment  as  at  Vienna.  Dwelling- 
houses  of  enormous  size — some  built  around  two,  three,  and 
even  four  court-yards,  and  accomodating  twenty,  thirty,  or 
more,  families — are  arising ;  new  churches  are  approach- 
ing completion ;  and,  above  all,  many  monumental  buildings, 
whose  erection  will  cost  years  of  labor,  are  in  various  stages 
of  construction. 

Twenty  years  ago,  beyond  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Stephen, 
i;here  was  little  or  nothing  imposing  or  beautiful  in  the  archi- 
tecture of  this  city.  The  streets  were  narrow,  and  lined  by 
plain,  stuccoed  buildings  of  great  height,  whose  lower  stories 
received  so  little  light  that  remarkable  contrivances  were 
often  resorted  to,  to  introduce  the  same.  In  the  interior 
city  one  sees  still  many  windows  provided  with  mirrors, 
set  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  with  the  front,  to  reflect 
the  light  from  above  into  the  rooms.  Within  the  period 
mentioned,  great  changes  have  been  wrought, — the  old  forti- 
fication walls  encircling  the  city  have  been  removed ;  the 
great  ditch,  exterior  to  these,  and  having  a  depth  of  some 
sixty  feet,  has  been  filled ;  and  the  space  thus  gained,  to- 

*  The  Vienna  Exposition  contained  a  magnificent  collection  of  architectural  material 
in  the  shape  of  models,  drawings,  engravings,  plans,  etc. ;  and,  in  this  display,  the 
Vienna  architects  were  easily  first.  And  this  happened  both  from  their  propinquity 
and  from  the  fact,  that  the  enormously  rapid  growth  of  the  city  of  late  years,  has 
developed  the  science  of  building  to  a  remarkable  extent.  In  this  Report,  it  has  been 
deemed  better  to  refer  to  the  actual  buildings  as  examples,  rather  than  to  the  draw- 
ings and  illustrations  of  the  same  exhibited  in  the  Exposition. — Editor. 


REPOET  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.  367 

gether  with  a  large  area  beyond,  previously  used  for  military 
purposes,  devoted  to  wide  boulevards  and  squares.  These 
were  soon  lined  with  fine  .structures  ;  and  the  city  acquired  a 
large  sum  of  money  from  the  sale  of  sites,  which  it  is  now 
devoting  to  building  purposes.  The  first  structure  completed 
with  these  funds  was  the  beautiful  Opera  House, — until  the 
completion  of  the  Paris  opera  building,  the  finest  ifl  the  world, 
— surpassing  those  of  Milan  and  Naples,  if  not  in  size,  yet  in 
magnificence  and  taste.  Its  cost  was  not  far  from  five  to  six 
million  dollars.  Within  a  few  steps  of  this  building,  a  new 
Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts  is  erecting  ;  while,  following  the  line 
of  boulevards  surrounding  the  interior  city,  we  come  to  the 
old  parade-ground,  on  which  the  foundations  of  three  enor- 
mous structures  are  being  placed :  first,  a  new  Parliament 
House,  to  be  built  in  Grecian  style,  by  Hansen  ;  next,  in  the 
centre,  the  new  city  hall,  or  Rathhaus,  with  a  front  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  in  modernized  Gothic,  with  a  central 
tower,  from  the  plans  of  Schmidt,  which  were  accepted  from 
among  a  large  number  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  world ; 
and  third,  the  University,  by  Ferstel,  in  Roman  style.  All 
these  buildings  are  of  great  size,  and  will  each  cost  millions, 
— the  Rathhaus  perhaps  six  or  seven.  The  place  upon  which 
they  stand  wnll  be,  at  their  completion,  the  finest  in  the 
world ;  aud  will  be  still  further  beautified  by  a  new  imperial 
and  royal  theatre,  to  be  erected  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

Passing  by  these  buildings  and  the  Votive  Cathedral, — 
now  building  for  fifteen  years,  at  a  great  cost, — we  turn 
down  the  Schotten  ring, — a  section  of  the  encircling  boule- 
vards,— leaving,  right  and  left,  palatial  dwellings  and  hotels, 
and  reach  the  site  of  the  new  Exchange,  whose  massive  foun- 
dations astonish  the  gazer,  and  have  alone  cost  several  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  At  other  points  on  the  ring  are  to  be 
seen  the  imposing  palaces  of  the  arch-dukes  and  the  uew  Art 
Museum  ;  while,  on  the  newer  neighboring  streets,  are  num- 
berless dwelling-houses,  of  graceful  and  ornamental  architec- 
ture, whose  forms  are  borrowed  in  general  from  the  Italian 
Renaissance,  abounding  in  widely  projecting  cornices  and 
figural  decoration.  These  are  mostly  of  a  color  very  cheering 
and  grateful  to  the  eye, — a  creamy  ochre, — similar  to  that 
of  our   light   sandstones,   and  apparently    of  that  material. 


368  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Closer  inspection  and  observation  of  the  many  buildings 
erecting  shows,  however,  that  they  are,  in  reality,  built  of 
mastic,  which,  in  some  instances,  too,  is  painted.  It  looks, 
however,  very  differently  from  the  mastic  on  the  older  build- 
ings ;  is  harder,  and  presents  little  tendency  to  crack  or  scale 
away.  This  arises  from  various  causes,  which  will  be  ex- 
plained further  on.  Besides  the  great  size  of  these  buildings, 
— whose  fronts  are  rarely  less  than  one  hundred  feet  long, 
and  whose  height  is  uniform, — an  American  is  struck  by  the 
great  thickness  of  the  walls ;  the  massive  nature  of  the 
floors,  in  which  the  arch  and  iron  play  a  prominent  part ; 
and  the  existence  of  large  interior  court-yards,  which,  in 
many  cases,  are  covered  by  a  glass  roof.  The  great  rough- 
ness and  apparent  instability  of  the  masonry  produces  an  un- 
pleasant effect  upon  one  accustomed  to  the  neat  brick  walls 
of  England  and  America  ;  but  what  is  apparently  carelessness 
soon  proves  to  be  intentional  aim  on  the  part  of  the  builder. 
The  bricks  are  set  upon  one  another  with  joints  an  inch 
thick,  and  open  on  the  exterior  to  the  depth  of  an  inch,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  a  hold  to  the  mastic. 

Other  points  soon  noticed  are  the  absence  of  wooden  stair- 
ways ;  instead  of  which,  those  of  stone  alone,  or  stone  in  con- 
•  uection  with  iron,  are  invariable,  and  the  practice  of  making 
all  partition-walls  of  masonry.  The  generality  of  these 
features  proves  sufficiently  that  they  are  the  results  of  build- 
ing-laws, since  their  cost  is  great,  and  the  tendency  in  build- 
ing, left  to  itself,  is  to  secure  cheapness  rather  than  durability, 
or  protection  from  the  danger  of  fire.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  such  laws — requiring  thick  walls,  stone  stairways,  etc. — 
have  had  an  efl'ect  upon  the  material  employed  for  the  exte- 
rior in  Vienna.  The  great  predominance  of  mastic  fronts, 
and  the  development  of  the  manufacture  of  the  constituents 
of  this  material,  reached  in  Austria,  is,  without  doubt,  thus  to 
be  in  part  explained.  In  order  that  the  final  expense  of  the 
building  may  not  be  too  great,  the  builder  economizes  where 
the  law  permits  him,  and  uses  mastic  instead  of  ftice-brick 
or  stone,  seeking,  however,  to  secure  as  good  a  mastic  as 
possible, — one  that  Avill  present  a  good  appearance  and  prove 
durable. 


EEPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.  369 

The  great  amount  of  building  undertaken  has  called  for 
numerous  architects,  and  these  were  soon  at  hand;  some 
came  from  Northern  Germany,  and  brought  with  them  the 
taste  for  Gothic  art ;  others  were  favorers  of  the  French  school ; 
but  by  far  the  most  seem  to  have  drawn  their  inspiration 
from  study  of  the  Italian  works  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  close  promixity  of  Venice — to  be  reached  by  rail  in 
less  than  twenty-four  hours — attracts  crowds  of  young  enthu- 
siasts each  winter,  who,  after  study  of  the  famous  monu- 
ments, are  rarely  content  to  return  home  without  a  visit  to 
the  neighboring  cities  of  Northern  Italy, — Padua ;  Yiceuza, 
the  home  of  Palladio ;  Brescia,  Bergamo,  and,  finally,  Milan, 
where  the  famous  passage  or  gallery  of  Victor  Emanuel,  by 
the  architect  Mengoni,  has  now  nearly  reached  completion. 

Leaving  this  point,  and  returning  as  far  as  Verona,  the 
favorite  home  trip  is  by  way  of  the  Brenner  pass  and  Munich, 
— the  latter,  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago,  the  most  famous 
architectural  city  of  Germany,  and  still  possessing  numerous 
structures  in  ancient  Grecian  style,  fresh  and  unimpaired  by 
the  ravages  of  time.  Vienna  has  also  one  master  of  the  Gre- 
cian art,  whose  name  is  well  known  upon  the  continent 
(Hansen), — the  same  who  has  prepared  the  plans  for  the 
Parliament  Building  referred  to  above,  and  has  erected  many 
of  the  public .  structures  of  the  new  Vienna.  He,  and  the 
other  two  architects  employed  in  beautifying  the  old  parade- 
grounds,  have  the  first  names  in  architecture  in  Vienna. 
Within  a  few  years,  the  renowned  Semper,  formerly  con- 
nected with  tlie  poly  technical  school  at  Zurich,  has  also 
taken  up  his  abode  here,  and  is  now  engaged  with  the  erec- 
tion of  two  large  museums, — destined  also  to  beautify  the 
ring, — while,  in  Dresden,  the  new  Eoyal  Theatre,  also  by  him, 
now  well  above  the  ground,  has,  without  doubt,  been  seen 
and  admired  by  many  Americans  who  have  been  abroad 
within  the  last  year. 

The  erection  of  so  many  public  buildings  in  Vienna,  in 
ornamental  style,  has  afiected  the  architecture  of  the  better 
dwellings.  No  one  ventures  to  build  a  dwelling-house  to- 
day upon  one  of  the  newer  streets  of  Vienna  without  at- 
tention to  the  requirements  of  beauty  and  taste ;  and  the 
building  laws  have  become  so  rigid  that  permission  could, 

47 


370  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

under  other  conditions,  not  be  obtained  for  their  erection. 
The  use  of  mastic  has  rendered  this  possible  without  undue 
expense.  Within  four  to  six  weeks  from  tlie  time  of  comple- 
tion of  the  rough  brick  walls,  this  coating  is  applied ;  the 
cornices  and  window-cappings  are  planed  out,  and  the  orna- 
mentation put  in  place, — to  last,  perhaps,  longer  than  stone 
itself. 

The  Viennese  are  doing  their  utmost  to  make  their  city  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  world  ;  and,  though  much  remains  to 
be  accomplished,  certainly  a  wonderful  amount  has  been  done 
within  a  very  short  period,  and  it  is  already  disputing  the  palm 
with  Paris.  The  use  in  the  latter  city  of  stone  for  building 
purposes,  to  the  almost  entire  exclusion  of  brick  and  terra- 
cotta,— whose  durability  is  surpassed  by  no  material, — causes 
indirectly  a  certain  uniformity  and  plainness  in  the  greater 
mass  of  buildings. 

Many  of  the  newer  streets  of  Paris,  as  well  as  of  the  other 
larger  cities  of  France, — as  Marseilles  and  Lyons, — are  exces- 
sively monotonous  and  tiresome  to  the  eye.  No  further 
attempt  seems  to  have  been  made  in  the  planning  of  the 
fronts  than  to  secure  the  necessary  light  for  the  interior,  and 
the  exclusion  of  the  weather.  Every  window  in  every  house 
is  the  same, — and,  in  general,  the  interior  arrangements  are 
similar ;  so  that  the  owner  of  any  particular  house  would 
find  himself  equally  comfortable  in  any  other  in  the  street. 
Still  more  pitiful  is  the  appearance  of  a  larger  part  of  the 
more  respectable  portion  of  London,  where  proprietors  con- 
tent themselves  with  plain  brick  walls,  in  which . rectangular 
holes  are  left  for  windows,  and  from  whose  upper  portion  the 
roof  arises  without  intervening  cornice.  The  meanness  and 
plainness  of  these  dwellings,  miles  of  which  are  to  be  found 
to-day  at  the  west  end  of  London, — almost  invariably  the 
property  of  men  of  means, — are,  to  one  who  has  passed 
several  years  upon  the  continent,  most  displeasing.  In  the 
business  portions  of  the  same  city  a  decorative  art  is  widely 
spread,  which,  though  well  represented  in  America,  has, 
luckily  for  the  Viennese,  not  made  its  appearance  to  an 
undue  extent  as  yet  in  their  city.  I  refer  to  shop  and  store 
signs,  which  cover  every  available  point  with  their  glai:ing 
characters,  and  destroy  the  little  harmony  that  the  architect 


REPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.         371 

has  given  to  the  comparatively  few  handsome  buildings  there 
to  be  found.  A  writer  in  one  of  the  Boston  papers,  after  the 
great  fire,  advised  that  decoration  should  be  very  scantily 
applied  to  the  new  buildings  to  be  erected,  since  it  would  be 
immediately  concealed  by  signs  of  stores,  banks,  etc.  Where 
ornamentation  is,  as  with  us,  produced  by  the  use  of  elabo- 
rately chiselled  granite,  this  is,  without  doubt,  true.  In 
Vienna,  where  only  the  lower  stories  of  buildings  are  used 
for  business  purposes  and  the  upper  invariably  for  dwellings, 
the  matter  is  different.  Here  signs  are  fewer  in  number,  and 
the  growing  taste  of  the  people  leads  them  to  place  them 
symmetrically  upon  the  fronts,  and  blend  them  with  the 
architecture  of  the  building.  I  have  seen  many  cases  where 
a  sign  has  been  made  of  the  same  width  as  a  frieze,  which, 
having  been  left  smooth  and  without  decoration,  serves  ad- 
mirably as  a  position  for  it,  and  where  its  protruding  nature 
is  rendered  less  prominent  by  the  shadow  thrown  by  the 
overhanging  cornice. 

While  in  Paris  the  use  of  stone  has  had  a  direct  effect  upon 
the  appearance  of  the  streets,  through  the  ensuing  absence  of 
ornamentation,  which,  for  ordinary  buildings,  would,  in  this 
material,  require  too  great  an  outlay  of  money ;  in  Vienna, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  mastic  in  connection  with  terra- 
cotta, has  played  the  greatest  part  in  beautifying  that  city. 
There  are,  however,  certain  indirect  effects  which  arise  from 
the  same  causes.  Where  stone  is  used  for  the  main  walls  of 
a  building,  these  need  not  be  as  thick  as  when  constructed  of 
brick.  For  instance  :*  in  Paris,  at  the  basement,  the  front 
wall  of  an  ordinary  dwelling-house  may  be  two  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and,  at  the  roof,  one  foot  and  a  half.  In  Vienna,  such 
a  wall  of  brick  is  often  two  feet  and  a  half  to  three  feet  at  the 
roof.  Now  much,  in  the  way  of  architectural  ornamentation, 
in  order  to  produce  its  due  effect,  must  project  to  a  certain 
extent  from  this  wall,  thus  giving  to  the  front  the  light  and 
shade  sought  for.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  upper 
or  main  cornice  of  a  building, — that  portion  which  crowns 
the  whole.  This  is  constructed  in  general  by  the  assist- 
ance of  stones  resting  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  wall, 
and  projecting  to  the  required  extent.  It  is  evident  that, 
if  these  stones  project  too  far,  they  will  topple  over  into 


372  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

the  street,  unless  they  are  counterpoised  by  a  certain  weight, 
or  are  tied  down  by  irons,  built  lirmly  into  the  interior  of  the 
wall.  In  Paris,  to  avoid  all  danger  from  such  causes,  these 
stones  are  required  by  law  to  rest  upon  the  whole  width  of  the 
wall,  and  in  no  case  project  more  than  the  thickness  of  this 
wall  at  its  upper  portion.  Now,  where  the  wall  is  but  eigh- 
teen inches  or  a  foot  thick,  the  cornice  can  also  have  no 
greater  projection  ;  and  this  is  insuiSScient  to  produce  much 
effect.  In  Vienna,  with  thicker  walls,  wider  cornices  can  be 
made ;  and  those  of  three  and  even  four  feet  projection  are 
frequent.  The  -  laws  of  harmony  and  taste  require  that  this 
projection  of  the  main  cornice  should  govern  all  other  projec- 
tions upon  the  fronts, — such  as  of  wiudow-cappings,  subordi- 
nate cornices,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  made  less  than  the  first. 
Thus  in  Paris  there  is  a  lack  of  relief  in  the  general  street 
architecture,  which  is  not  found  in  the  newer  Vienna.  In 
this  connection, — now  that  the  matter  of  cornices  is  under 
consideration, — I  wish  to  call  attention  to  a  certain  matter 
connected  with  the  late  fire  in  Boston.  Although  not  present 
there  at  that  time,  I  have  understood  that  the  large  stones 
forming  the  cornices  of  buildings  toppled  over  into  the  streets 
at  an  early  period  in  the  conflagration.  Before  the  existence 
of  the  present  building  laws  of  Vienna,  which  are  recognized 
as  among  the  best  on  the  continent,  such  accidents  also  oc- 
curred here,  and  were  occasioned  by  holding  these  stones  in 
place  on  the  wall  simply  by  the  weight  of  the  roof  resting 
upon  them.  Upon  the  burning  of  the  latter,  there  remained 
nothing  to  counterpoise  the  weight  of  the  projecting  portion 
of  these  stones,  and  they  .necessarily  fell.  At  present,  they 
must  be  tied  in  place  with  irons,  which  are  built  into  the 
wall  and  anchored  six  to  twelve  feet  below  the  cornice. 
Whether  these  stones  fell  in  Boston  from  a  similar  cause  to 
that  referred  to,  or  whether  the  walls,  from  insufiicient  thick- 
ness, crumbled  beneath  them,  is  to  me  unknown.  When  a 
fire  occurs  in  the  roof  of  a  Viennese  house,  the  wood  simply 
burns  away,  without  disquieting  or  affecting  the  dwellers  in 
the  lower  stories,  and  the  fire  then  ceases  from  want  of  fuel. 
I  remember,  last  year,  trying  to  discover  a  house  upon  the 
Eing  where  the  roof  had  thus  been  burnt,  and  found  nothing 
in  the  exterior  appearance  of  the  building  to  indicate  that  a 


REPORT  OF  MR  NELSON  L.  DERBY.  373 

fire  had  taken  place,  and  shonld  have  passed  by  had  it  not 
been  for  the  crowd  assembled  in  the  vicinity. 

Having  called  attention  to  the  activity  in  building,  reigning 
at  present  in  Vienna,  and  referred  to  the  especial  eiforts  made 
to  beautify  the  city  ;  and  also  given  some  hints  as  to  the 
substantial  character  of  the  work  done,  I  wish  now  to  discuss 
these  matters  more  at  length.  The  field  here  is  an  especially 
good  one  for  study,  from  the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  build- 
ings erecting  are  to  be  of  a  monumental  character,  where  no 
expense  or  pains  are  spared  to  secure  durability  and  preserva- 
tion from  the  dangers  of  fire.  The  German  race  is  not  an 
inventive  one,  but  is  certainly  acquisitive.  There  is  little 
new  and  good  that  other  nationalities  contrive  that  they  do 
not  sooner  or  later  apply  to  their  own  purposes ; — thus,  all 
the  methods  of  construction  through  the  use  of  iron  as  devised 
by  the  French,  are,  perhaps,  to-day  more  widely  used  in 
Vienna  than  in  Paris.  A  work  has  been  published  by  a 
North  German,  Brandt,  upon  this  subject,  and  is  filled  with 
the  most  useful  drawings  made  by  himself  in  Paris,  London 
and  Berlin,  of  all  varieties  of  construction  in  this  material. 
Many  of  these  are,  without  doubt,  known  in  America,  but  not 
as  widely  as  they  should  be,  and  this  work  is  well  worthy  of 
translation  into  English  and  publication  at  home.  The  first 
matter  to  be  looked  into  would  appear  to  be  that  of  mastic, 
from  its  predominant  use  and  excellent  character  in  this  city. 
Unfortunately,  no  books  have  been  written  upon  the  subject, 
and  what  information  I  have  been  able  to  collect  upon  it  has 
been  gained  by  questioning  builders  and  masons,  arid  in  some 
cases  architects,  though  these  latter  seem  in  general  to  know 
less  of  the  matter.  Whatever  the  nature  of  the  material  may 
be,  it  is  always  desirable  to  give  it  a  firm  hold  upon  the  fronts 
to  which  it  is  applied,  and  this  is  here  gained  by  the  use  of 
soft,  porous  bricks,  laid  with  joints  open  to  a  depth  of  an  inch 
from  their  external  surface,  and  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch 
in  width.  This  has  been  stated  above  already,  but  I  repeat 
it  here  as  of  particular  importance.  The  mastic  keys  itself 
into  these  crevices  exactly  as  the  plaster  of  a  wall  or  ceiling 
is  held  in  place  by  the  openings  between  the  laths.  The 
material  used  in  Vienna  is  of  several  varieties,  but  the  chief 
heads  under  which  it  can  be  classified  are  two  :  that  prepared 


374  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

by  the  use  of  ordinary  lime,  and  that  prepared  by  the  use  of 
cement.  The  latter  is  considerably  dearer,  but  possesses 
great  advantages.  Formerly  the  first  alone  was  used,  and 
lasted  very  well  when  not  applied  in  exposed  positions,  but 
where  rain  and  frost  could  attack  it,  it  showed,  after  several 
years,  a  tendency  to  crack  and  blister,  though  rarely  to  fall 
from  the  wall.  Its  application  here  is  diflerent  from  our 
own.  Three  mixtures  are  prepared  :  the  first  consists  of  coarse 
sand  and  lime  which  is  thrown  upon  the  walls  forcibly  from 
the  trowel  and  allowed  to  become  tolerably  dry,  the  pre- 
caution being  taken  that  the  bricks  be  not  too  dry  on  its 
application,  since  otherwise  they  absorb  the  moisture  too 
rapidly  from  the  mortar  and  cause  it  to  crack ;  then  follows  a 
second  mixture  of  finer  sand  and  lime,  which  is  planed  into 
the  required  shape,  whether  of  cornice  or  window  capping, 
by  a  profile  cut  in  sheet  iron  and  stifi'ened  by  a  board  back- 
ing,— this  is  guided  as  in  stucco-work  by  strips  nailed  to  the 
wall.  On  the  second  coating  becoming  nearly  dry,  an  almost 
liquid  mixture  of  the  finest  sifted  sand  and  lime  is  thrown  as 
before  upon  the  wall  and  again  planed  out ;  and  finally,  corners 
of  moulding,  etc.,  are  finished  by  hand,  which  presupposes 
some  skill  on  the  part  of  the  workman.  It  is  important  that 
this  mastic  should  nowhere  have  a  greater  thickness  than  one 
half  an  inch,  and  thus,  where  great  projections  occur,  the 
rough  form  of  the  moulding  should  be  built  out  with  bricks 
which  are  broken  with  the  trowel  to  the  required  form.  For 
this  latter  purpose,  bricks  two  feet  in  length,  are  burnt  in  the 
vicinity  of  Vienna.  .The  upper  surface  of  such  a  projection 
then  receives  a  covering  of  zinc  as  a  protection  against  the 
efiects  of  rain.  All  the  conditions  necessary  to  the  production 
of  good  mortar  are  equally  applicable  to  this  mastic.  The 
lime  and  sand  must  be  pure  and  good ;  the  latter  must  be 
sharp,  and  best  from  the  pit ;  during  its  application  and  set- 
ting the  mastic  must  be  protected  from  the  influences  of  the 
weather,  especially  of  rain.  At  present,  in  Vienna,  this 
variety  of  mastic  is  going  out  of  use,  and  the  hydraulic  variety 
produced  by  intermixture  of  sand  and  cement  is  coming  into 
fiivor  ;  partly  on  account  of  its  greater  durability,  partly  from 
the  resulting  dryness  of  the  walls  thus  coated,  and  finally 
from  the  greater  ease  in  working.     The  first  variety  is  now 


EEPOET  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.         375 

used  principally  in  sheltered  positions,  as  for  court-yards 
covered  with  glass,  for  the  portions  of  walls  directly  sheltered 
by  cornices,  etc.  Hydraulic  cement  is  best  known  to  us  at 
home  under  the  names  of  Portland  and  Roman  cement,  and 
the  best  varieties  have  been  supposed  to  come  from  England. 
At  the  International  Exposition  at  Vienna,  varieties  have  been 
exhibited  by  the  Germans  and  Austrians,  which,  however, 
are  quite  equal  to  the  best  English,  and  are  considerably 
cheaper.  The  Portland  cement  is  prepared  from  a  limestone 
with  which  clay  and  silica  are  mixed  previous  to  burning. 
The  Roman  cement  is  obtained  directly  from  a  limestone  con- 
taining the  same  materials  naturally.  The  proportions  are 
important,  and  upon  them  depend  the  excellence  of  the 
cement  and  its  power  of  hardening  under  water.  The  variety 
employed,  principally  in  Vienna,  is  manufactured  in  Kuf stein, 
in  Tyrol.  United  with  broken  stone  in  small  pieces,  heton  is 
prepared  from  it,  which  is  here  applied  to  many  uses,  among 
others  the  construction  of  foundation  walls  in  moist  places, 
as  an  underlayer  for  asphalt  pavement,  manufacture  of  artificial 
stone,  etc.  The  basin  for  a  large  fountain  has  just  been  com- 
pleted in  Vienna  entirely  of  this  substance.  The  foundations, 
commenced  at  a  depth  of  some  sixteen  feet  beloAV  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  were  prepared  of  a  mixture  of  three  parts  of  gravel 
and  one  part  of  Kufsteiner  cement,  and  upon  these  the  bed  of 
the  basin  was  laid  with  a  thickness  of  one  foot.  The  parapet, 
after  being  brought  roughly  into  form  with  the  same  material, 
received  a  coating  of  a  mixture  of  one  part  of  cement  and  two 
parts  of  clean  sand.  The  mouldings  were  then  planed  out 
and  a  final  coating  of  one  part  of  cement  and  one  part  of  fine 
sand  was  applied,  planed  into  form  and  finally  polished  with  a 
variety  of  Bohemian  stone,  which  appears  to  be  a  soft  sand- 
stone containinoj  mica.  In  conducting  this  work  the  whole 
was  kept  constantly  moist  to  prevent  the  appearance  of  cracks. 
The  workmen  employed  were  all  Italians  ;  and  these  have  the 
reputation  in  Vienna  of  thoroughly  understanding  all  applica- 
tions of  cement,  and  beyond  this,  of  great  faithfulness  and 
industry.  As  masons  in  general  they  are  unsurpassed,  and 
doubtless,  those  who  are  now  engaged  in  street-sweeping  in 
New  York,  could  be  much  more  profitably  employed  in  this 
labor.     The  use  of  cement,  as  mastic  for  buildings,  is  con- 


376  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

ducted  under  similar  conditions  to  those  described.  The 
exact  proportion  of  sand  to  be  added  to  the  cement  cannot 
be  fixed  for  all  varieties,  but  is  always  dependent  on  the 
quality  of  the  latter.  In  some  cases  in  Vienna  I  have  under- 
stood that  the  cement  is  applied  without  intermixture  of  sand 
at  all.  It  must  be  worked  into  form  immediately  upon 
application,  which  must  ensue  directly  upon  mixing  with 
water.  The  latter  must  be  used  unsparingly,  and  the  whole 
kept  thoroughly  wet  for  several  days  to  prevent  the  appear- 
ance of  cracks.  It  is  not,  as  the  ordinary  lime  mastic,  applied 
in  three  layers,  but  all  at  once,  the  other  conditions  being, 
however,  the  same  as  those  described  in  connection  with  that 
substance. 

The  best  varieties  of  cement  for  mastic  are  those  which  set 
slowly,  but  the  proportions  vary  for  different  climates,  and  can 
be  best  determined  by  experiment.  In  Vienna  the  Kufsteiner 
cement  costs  about  75  cents  per  hundred-weight  and  the  labor 
of  application  as  mastic  varies  from  30  cents  to  75  cents  per 
square  yard,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  work.  Many  of 
the  more  elaborately  ornamental  features  of  fronts,  which  can- 
not be  directly  prepared  by  the  workmen  with  his  ordinary 
tools,  or  which  require  a  certain  amount  of  artistic  skill,  such 
as  consoles  or  brackets,  key-stones,  fretwork,  etc.,  are  cast  in 
cement  and  afterwards  attached  in  position  with  irons,  and,  if 
hollow,  filled  with  cement.  These,  of  course,  have  no  weight  to 
support,  but  are  purely  decorative.  Better  and  more  durable 
than  cement  for  such  purposes  is  terra-cotta,  which  is  now 
widely  used  in  Vienna,  and  is  only  prevented  from  supplant- 
ing the  cement  castings  by  its  greater  cost.  The  color  of  these 
mastic  fronts  is  that  of  light  sandstone,  and  is  very  pleasing  to 
the  eye ;  only  when  a  deposit  of  saltpetre  appears  from  the 
brick  wall  beneath  is  it  customary  to  paint  them.  Very 
pleasing  decoration  of  smooth  surfaces  of  mastic  is  also  pro- 
duced by  the  Italian  art  of  Sgrafitto  painting.  The  finest 
modern  specimens  of  this  are  to  be  seen  in  the  passage  Victor 
Emanuel,  in  Milan.  The  process  is  the  following :  With  the 
mastic  is  mixed  hard  coal  and  charcoal  dust,  also  Frankfort 
black,  previous  to  its  application.  After  setting  it  receives  a 
thin  coating  of  slack  lime  and  water,  which  while  still  moist  is 
scraped  away  by  a  pointed  steel  instrument,  in  such  a  manner 


EEPORT  OF  ME.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.         377 

as  to  produce  the  drawing  in  white,  with  black  shading  and 
background,  or  in  black  upon  a  white  background.  This 
method  of  treatment  is  more  satisfactory  to  those  minds  which 
find  a  sham  and  pretence  in  the  imitation  of  stone-work  by 
mastic. 

Terra-cotta,  as  before  said,  is  very  extensively  employed  in 
Vienna,  and  many  large  works  are  now  in  operation  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  city,  where  statues,  mouldings,  columns,  capitals, 
fountains,  and  in  fact  all  varieties  of  decoration  for  exterior 
and  interior  purposes,  are  prepared.  This  material  has  been 
known  from  the  earliest  times  in  history,  but  has  occasionally 
gone  out  of  use  for  long  periods.  The  ancient  Greeks  manu- 
factured vases  for  ornamental  and  practical  purposes  from  it. 
Before  them  it  was  employed  by  the  Egyptians,  and  after  them 
by  the  Etruscans  and  Romans.  In  Pompeii  large  earthen  ves- 
sels, capable  of  containing  several  hogsheads  each,  have  been 
excavated,  while  in  Rome,  one  of  still  more  colossal  size  has 
recently  been  discovered  ;  pieces  of  frieze  and  cornice  in  good 
preservation  have  also  came  down  to  us  from  these  times.  In 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  its  use  was  as:ain  re- 
vived  in  Northern  Italy,  and  the  hospital  at  Milan,  and  above 
all,  the  court-yards  of  the  Certosa,  near  Pavia,  are  resplendent 
with  the  material  in  most  gorgeous  hues,  to  be  still  seen  in 
unimpaired  condition.  In  England,  terra-cotta  is  manufact- 
ured to-day  of  great  hardness  and  durability,  and  it  is  well 
known  that  that  employed  in  the  Parliament  Houses  in  London 
is  lasting  much  better  than  the  stone  by  its  side.  At  the 
Exposition  in  Vienna,  the  finest  exhibition  of  terra-cotta  has 
been  made  by  Austria;  the  design  of  all  ornamental  objects  of 
the  substance  is  marked  by  taste,  and  their  color, — a  light, 
creamy  hue,  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  cement  mastic 
described  above, — is  very  pleasing  to  the  eye.  It  is  not  so 
hardly  burned  as  the  English  varieties,  but  stands  frost  well, 
and  is  sold  at  a  very  low  price.  Life-size  statues,  of  careful 
workmanship,  as  durable  and  well  finished  as  marble,  can 
be  had  for  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  each.  The  most  celebrated 
factory  here  is  the  Wienerberger,  within  a  half  an  hour's  ride 
of  Vienna.  Here  some  four  thousand  workman  are  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  bricks,  form-bricks,  tiles,  terra-cotta 
objects,  etc.  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  burning,  the  ring  furnace 

48 


378  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

is  alone  used.  This,  I  believe,  is  already  known  in  America. 
Its  essential  features  consist  in  the  feeding  of  the  fires  from 
above,  and  in  a  strong  draught  produced  by  a  tall  chimney. 
It  is  said  to  occasion  a  great  saving  of  fuel,  estimated  at  as 
high  a  rate  as  three-quarters  of  that  required  for  the  old  meth- 
ods of  burning ;  but  the  bricks  do  not  seem  as  hardly  burned 
as  our  own.  Among  the  conspicuous  Austrian  structures  at 
the  International  Exhibition  was  a  triumphal  archway,  erected 
of  the  products  of  this  factory.  Under  its  shelter  were  exposed 
various  models  of  furnaces, — terra-cotta  objects,  such  as 
vases,  brackets,  etc.,  of  very  exquisite  design, — and  many 
varieties  of  brick.  The  bricks  used  generally  for  building 
purposes  in  Vienna  are  slightly  less  than  12x6x3  inches, 
the  full  size  being  made  up  by  the  joints  ;  others  are  to  be 
seen  here  eighteen  inches  and  two  feet  in  length,  used,  as 
previously  described,  for  cornices,  window-cappings,  etc.,  in 
connection  with  mastic ;  others  used  for  similar  purposes  have 
one  edge  bevelled  to  avoid  the  necessity  on  the  part  of  the 
workmen  of  chipping  them  with  the  trowel.  In  addition  are 
hollow  bricks  used  in  the  construction  of  fire-proof  floors,  fire- 
bricks, perhaps  six  inches  square  and  two  inches  thick,  used  in 
paving  cattle  stalls  ;  wedge-shaped  bricks  for  arches  and  vaults  ; 
and  hollow  conical  bricks,  in  shape  much  like  a  small  flower-pot 
closed  at  both  ends.  Some  of  the  latter  have  been  employed  in 
the  construction  of  the  dome  which  surmounts  the  centre  of  this 
triumphal  arch.  Nearly  all  of  these  varieties  are,  I  believe,  if 
not  novel  in  America,  still  limited  in  their  use  there.  While 
here  upon  the  continent  generally,  and  especialy  in  Austria, 
the  arch  and  vault  play  a  prominent  part  in  every  house,  in 
America  only  our  most  important  public  buildings  are  con- 
structed with  them.  In  Vienna  the  law  requires  that  the  cel- 
lars shall  be,  with  few  exceptions,  vaulted  throughout,  while 
in  the  basement  story,  the  ceiling  is  in  general  supported  upon 
iron  girders  or  beams  upon  which  are  sprung  vaults  of  hollow 
brick.  These  measures  are  taken  in  part  to  secure  the  solidity 
of  the  building  and  in  part  as  a  precaution  against  fire.  A 
valuable  and  costly  work  upon  the  subject  of  terra-cotta  and 
form-bricks,  containing  numerous  colored  illustrations,  by 
Gruner,  appeared  some  years  ago  in  Loudon,  and  is  recom- 
mended to  all  especially  interested  in  the  subject. 


REPORT  or  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.         379 

I  now  pass  to  a  matter  of  especial  interest  to  Bostonians, 
and,  in  fact,  to  Americans  in  general,  and  one  which  can  no- 
where" be  better  studied  than  in  Vienna.  I  refer  to  the 
methods  of  building  which  have  for  their  object  the  insurance 
of  stability  and  avoidance  of  the  danger  of  fire,  with  the 
various  Austrian  laws  aifecting  the  same.  These  subjects 
must  necessarily  be  treated  together,  as'  they  are  intimately 
dependent  upon  one  another ;  and  in  connection  with  them  it 
will  also  be  necessary  to  refer  to  various  sanitary  regulations 
which  might  also  with  advantage  be  introduced  at  home. 
Among  the  precautions  to  be  taken  in  rendering  a  building 
fire-proof,  the  most  important  are  those  tending  to  confine  the 
fire  to  the  point  at  which  it  first  appears.  This  is  here  accom- 
plished by  constructing  the  interior  as  well  as  exterior  walls 
of  masonry,  making  the  floors  and  ceilings  as  far  as  possible 
fire-proof;  completely  isolating  the  woodwork  of  the  roof 
from  the  remainder  of  the  building,  and  avoiding  the  use  of 
wood  or  other  combustible  matter  generally  in  staircases  and 
the  skylights  opening  upon  them.  To  prevent  the  roofs  of 
adjacent  houses  from  communicating  fire  with  one  another, 
they  are  separated  by  walls  of  masonry  rising  a  foot  above 
their  upper  surface  and  are  in  all  cases  covered  with  slate, 
tiles,  metal  or  other  uninflammable  substance.  To  prevent  the 
burning  roof  from  falling  through  into  the  lower  stories,  the 
floor  of  the  attic  is  made  both  incombustible  and  of  great 
strength.  The  fire-proof  floors  here  employed  are  of  several 
varieties  and  materials.  A  wooden  floor  is  rendered  incom- 
bustible by  a  filling  of  dry  mortar,  gravel  or  sand,  supported 
by  a  rough  boarding  placed  either  upon  or  between  the  rafters. 
The  depth  of  this  layer  is  generally  six  to  eight  inches,  and 
upon  its  upper  surface  comes  the  flooring,  nailed  to  joists, 
which  are  buried  in  the  filling.  I  have  never  heard  of  a  case 
where  a  fire  in  Vienna  has  penetrated  through  this  filling  to 
the  beams  or  rafters  below.  If  fire  breaks  out  in  the  room 
below,  the  plaster  of  the  ceiling  is  sufiicient  to  protect 
the  beams,  since  there  are  no  partition-walls  of  wood  to 
strengthen  the  flames,  and  the  burning  of  doors  and  windows, 
with  their  casing,  together  with  the  furniture,  is  insuflicient  to 
destroy  it.  In  case  of  rooms  used  for  the  storage  of  large 
quantities    of  combustible    matter,    there   are   especial   laws 


380 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


requiring  brick  ceilings.  The  construction  common  in  the 
better  class  of  houses  in  Vienna,  where  the  depth  of  the  room 
is  twenty-four  feet  generally,   is  shown  in  the   accompanying 


drawing. 


Section  across  beams. 


Beams  of  nine-inch  by  six-inch  timber,  separated  by  intervals 
of  not  more  than  three  feet,  rest  parallel  to  each  other,  with  at 


S: 


^JL 


Section  parallel  to  beams. 
a  main  beams.    6  boarding,    c  smaller  beams  supporting  ceiling,    d  stucco,  etc.     e  joists. 

least  six  inches  of  their  ends  upon  the  walls.  Upon  these  a 
boarding  is  laid  to  receive  the  filling  referred  to.  In  this  fill- 
ing are  buried  joists  at  right  angles  to  the  main  beams,  and 
upon  these  the  flooring  is  finally  nailed.  The  laths  or  reeds 
to  receive  the  plaster  of  the  ceiling  may  be  nailed  directly  to 
the  lower  surfaces  of  the  beams,  or,  as  is  more  customary,  to 
smaller  beams  placed  between  the  first  and  slightly  lower. 
In  this  way  the  ceiling  is  secured  from  vibration,  which  is 
especially  desirable  when  much  stucco-work  is  employed. 


Fire-proof  floor  with  filling  and  separate  support  for  ceiling,  and  boarding  between  the  beams. 

The  whole  thickness  of  this  construction  is  eighteen  inches, 
which   includes  a  parquet  flooring.     At  the  risk  of  making 


EEPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY. 


381 


these  details  still  more  minute,  and  taking  it  for  granted  that 
great  interest  is  felt  at  home  in  these  matters,  I  will  state 
further  that  as  regard  the  walls  upon  which  the  beams  rest, 
the  exterior  one  is  of  such  thickness  that  it  can  generally 
be  diminished  six  inches  at  each  story  at  the  point  where 
these  rest,  thus  giving  them  a  free  support,  and  diminishing 
the  danger  of  injury  to  the  wall  by  the  vibration  of  the  floors  ; 
where  it  is  impossible  to  make  the  middle  wall  of  such  thick- 
ness as  to  admit  of  a  diminution  of  six  inches  on  each  side  in 
every  story,  the  ends  of  the  beams,  before  being  built  in, 
are  covered  with  zinc  to  prevent  the  corrosive  effect  ot 
the  wet  mortar  upon  the  wood.  These  matters  are  not  con- 
nected with  fire,  but  I  mention  them  here  incidentally  as  of 
value  and  perhaps  not  generally  known  at  home. 

A  building-law  of  Vienna  requires  that  all  woodwork  should 
be  separated  from  the  interior  surface  of  flues  by  a  thickness 
of  at  least  six  inches  of  brick.  It  further  insists,  that  in  the 
interior  of  the  flue,  an  earthen  pipe  shall  be  inserted  in  every 
story,  extending  at  least  from  the  ceiling  to  the  surface  of 
the  flooring  above.     Flues  occur  frequently  here  in  the  middle 


Manner  of  guarding  floors  from  flues,    a  Flues. 


wall,  which  supports  the  ends  of  the  beams  for  floors,  and 
often  several  flues  occur  side  by  side,  so  that  the  end  of  one 
of  the  beams  might  lie  directly  upon  their  opening,  if  all  are. 
supported  direct]}^  by  the  wall.  To  avoid  this,  a  simple  con- 
trivance is  employed,  known,  without  doubt,  in  America,  and 
easily  understood  from  inspection  of  the  accompanying  draw- 
ing. Upon  the  two  adjacent  beams  a  cross-timber  is  sup- 
ported, which  receives,  at  its  middle  point,  the  end  of  the 
beam  in  question.  The  flues  are  in  general  six  inches  in 
diameter,  and  the  wall  necessarily  at  least  eighteen  inches 


382  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

tHick,  in  order  to  allow  six  inches  of  masonry  upon  each  side 
of  the  opening.  The  object  of  carrying  the  flues  up  through 
the  middle  wall  is  to  cause  as  much  heat  as  possible  to  be 
retained  in  the  building,  and  to  avoid  the  protrusion  of  the 
chimney  into  the  interior,  which  would  result  if  it  were  placed 
in  the  side-walls,  which  are  generally  of  lesser  thickness. 
Whether  the  neglect  of  these  precautions  has  anything  to  do 
with  the  constant  fires  which  we  hear  of  at  home,  as  resulting 
from  defective  flues,  I  am  unable  to  say. 

Another  form  of  construction  in  wood,  common  in  the  attic, 
and  often  occurring  also  in  the  basement  floors,  consists  in 
laying  half  or  whole  trees  side  by  side,  and  pinning  them 
firmly  together.  Upon  these  comes  a  filling  and  flooring,  as 
above  described,  for  the  basement ;  and,  for  the  attic,  a  filling 
and  tile  pavement.  In  all  these  floors,  greater  solidity  is 
gained,  if  the  ends  of  the  beams  rest  upon  a  timber  running 
the  entire  length  of  the  wall,  thus  diffusing  their  weight  more 
uniformly  upon  the  masonry.  This  is,  of  course,  especially 
applicable  to  the  case  where  the  wall  is  diminished  six  inches 
in  thickness  at  the  point  where  it  takes  up  the  beams. 

Another  practice,  here  worthy  of  note,  is  the  union  of  the 
ends  of  the  beams  of  adjacent  rooms,  by  means  of  irons  pass- 
ins^  throuo'h  the  interior  of  the  middle  wall.  This  adds  much 
to  the  stability  of  the  floors,  while  these  remain,  at  the  same 
time,  isolated  by  at  least  six  inches  of  masonry.  Further, 
kitchens  are  generally  provided  with  a  tile  pavement  as  well 
as  the  attics.  •  In  passages,  especially  those  of  school-houses, 
and  in  the  basement  floor  of  dwellings,  heton  or  cement  floors 
are  not  uncommon.  These  are  rendered  ornamental  by  the 
insertion  of  small  bits  of  stone  into  the  mass  before  setting, 
forming  regular  patterns,  and  the  whole  is  eventually  polished. 

These  two  forms  of  fire-proof  floors  are  the  most  common 
in  Vienna,  where  wood  is  used.  It  remains  now  to  speak  of 
iron  and  masonr}'',  alone  or  in  connection  with  one  another. 
Where  transverse  strains  occur,  wrought-irou  is  made  use  of, 
and  only  in  a  few  of  the  cases  where  there  is  a  pressure  in  the 
direction  of  the  length  to  withstand,  is  cast-iron  considered 
admissible.  Where  beams  of  moderate  length  are  used,  rail- 
road iron  is  often  applied  here ;  but  for  greater  lengths, 
double  T  or  I  girders  are  necessary.     In  cases  where  greater 


REPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY. 


383 


strength  is  required,  beams  are  rivetted  together  from  bar  and 
anffle  iron.  These  forms  are  all  well  known  in  America,  but 
are  not  in  general  use  there  for  the  construction  of  floors. 

The  first  variety  of  floor  I  shall  describe,  is  that  most  com- 
mon on  the  continent,  and,  without  doubt,  known  in  special 
cases  at  home.  Girders  are  laid  parallel,  from  wall  to  wall, 
at  intervals  of  about  six  feet,  and  upon  them  flat  segmental 
vaults  of  hollow  brick  are  sprung.     Where  additional  security 


-r*/mfX'jm^^^>fi<^w,'///m!7eSi.,>^^'==r^m>//;7^,7!^>s^^ 


Section  across  vaults  and  girders,    a  Filling,    b  Hollow  tricks. 

is  desired,  the  ends  of  these  girders  are  anchored  fast  in  the 
walls,  or  where  adjacent  rooms  occur,  having  this  form  of  floor, 

the  girders  may  be 
tied  together  through 
the  middle  wall.  In 
some  cases,  the  thrust 
of  the  vaults  is  taken 
up  by  rods  of  iron 
tying  the  girders  to 
one  another  trans- 
versely. To  prevent 
the  protrusion  of  these 
rods,  it  is  becoming 
usual,  in  England,  to 

Section  of  the  wall,  showing  the  ends  of  girders.  paSS  them  thrOUO'h  the 

interior  of  the  bricks,  which  requires  them  to  be  slightly 
curved,  but  not  sufficiently  so  to  produce  any  undue  pressure. 
The  lower  surfiice  of  the  vaults  receives  a  coating  of  plaster, 
and  is,  in  Vienna,  generally  decorated  with  frescoes,  as  may 
be  seen  in  many  of  the  new  cofiee-houses.  Above,  the  vaults 
are  covered  with  a  filling,  upon  which  come  the  joists  and 
flooring,  as  before  described.  This  form  of  floor  is  more 
thoroughly  fire-proof  than  either  of  the  others,  and  is  required 
by  law  in  Vienna,  in  most  cases,  in  the  basement  story  of 
buildings.     To  secure  the  greatest  solidity,  a  stone  is  built 


384 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


into  the  walls  to  receive  the  end  of  each  girder,  and  distributes 
its  weight  over  several  bricks. 

A  second  form  of  floor,  employed  where  it  is  desirable  to 


^s 


View  from  alDOve 


save  room,  occurs  in  several  buildings  in  Vienna,  but  not  so 
generally  as  the  last.  Girders  are  employed  as  before,  but 
support,  in  this  case,  cross-pieces  of  iron,  which,  in  their  turn, 
receive  rods  of  the  same  material  parallel  to  the  girders,  and 
placed  between  them.  The  resulting  network  is  bound  to- 
gether with  wire,  and  hollow  bricks  are  laid  upon  it  in  cement. 
The  whole  tMckness  of  this  construction  is  about  nine  inches. 
For  fire-proof  passages  connected  with  stairways,  or  built 
on  the  sides  of  court-yards,  it  is  customary  to  lay  a  girder 


Cross-section  through  girders. 

parallel  to  the  wall,  with  its  ends  supported  by  the  two 
adjacent  walls  alone.  It  is  then  tied  firmly  to  the  first  by 
several  iron  rods,  and  a  segmental  vault  is  sprung  from  girder 
to  wall,  as  before  described,  of  hollow  brick.  Such  passages 
are  very  substantial,  if  properly  made;  but  are  otherwise 
excessively  dangerous.  From  insufficient  strength  in  the  tie- 
rods,  an  accident  of  the  most  distressing  nature  occurred  a 
year  ago  here.  Some  heavy  weights  thrown  violently  upon 
such  a   passage   connected   with    a   stairway,   tore   the    ties 


EEPORT  or  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY. 


385 


asunder,   and  the  whole  mass  of  brick-work   fell,  carrying 
stairs  and  passages  with  it,  from  the  fourth  story  to  the  cellar, 


Austrian  arched  passage. 


while  fourteen  workmen  were  killed.  However,  there  are  but 
few  houses  in  the  newer  part  of  the  city  where  these  passages 
do  not  occur,  and  ordinary  care  proves  sufficient  to  prevent 
such  disasters. 

Vaulting  of  masonry  alone  was  formerly  common  in  Austria 
in  all  stories  of  buildings,  but  is  now  confined,  in  most  cases, 
to  the  cellars,  having  been  supplanted  elsewhere  by  the 
extended  use  of  iron.  The  ordinary  cylindrical  vault  is  em- 
ployed occasionally,  but  the  tendency  seems  to  be  to  transfer 
the  weight  of  the  superstructure  to  special  points  or  pillars, 
rather  than  to  continuous  walls,  after  the  principles  of  the 
Gothic  architecture.  In  this  way  the  same  stability  is  secured, 
with  a  less  expenditure  of  material ;  and  German  writers  con- 
tend that  the  necessities  of  building  are  thus  met  in  the  most 
rational  manner.  A  passage,  for  instance,  is  to  be  built  and 
covered  by  masonry  alone.  Instead  of  erecting  two  walls  of 
uniform  thickness,  and  joining  them  above  by  a  cylindrical 
vault,  a  row  of  pillars  is  built,  having,  in  special  cases,  the 
width  of  the  passage  for  their  distance  apart  in  the  row. 
Each  pillar  is  then  connected  by  a  strong  arch  of  several 
superposed  layers  of  brick  with  the  one  opposite  it,  and  the 
one  on  each  side  of  it.  In  this  way  the  length  of  the  passage 
is  divided  into  squares,  and  each  of  these  is  covered  by  a  light 
vault  of  spherical  form,  supported  by  four  of  the  arches 
described.     The  spaces  left  between  the  pillars  in  row,  are 

49 


386  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

then  built  up  with  a  light  brick  wall,  which  has  nothing  but 
its  own  weight  to  support.  The  amount  of  material  thus 
employed  is  much  less  than  that  required  by  the  first  men- 
tioned method.  The  spherical  vault  referred  to  has  almost 
entirely  supplanted  the  groin  in  the  newer  buildings  here,  and 
is  generally  built  for  small  widths,  without  the  use  of  scaffold- 
ing ;  but  not  till  the  completion  of  the  roof  of  the  building,  as 
rain  could  prove  very  injurious  to  its  stability.  "The  arch 
never  sleeps " ;  and  where  it  does  not  abut  upon  a  wall  of 
sufficient  strength  to  support  its  thrust,  it  should  be  tied 
together.  All  the  exterior  walls  of  buildings  are,  in  Vienna, 
firmly  bound  together  by  two  or  more  ties  of  iron  passing 
through  their  entire  length,  at  each  story.  When  these  are 
built  into  the  masonry,  and  protected  from  contact  with  the 
air,  they  are  not  affected  by  rust.  At  the  demolition  of  a 
house  at  least  fifty  years  old,  I  have  seen  such  ties  taken  out 
in  perfect  condition. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  description  of  fire-proof  stairways, 
one  of  which,  at  least,  is  required  in  every  building  in  Vienna, 
I  will  give  a  translation  of  the  more  important  building-laws 
here  in  force,  as  they  contain  much  information  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  will  assist  in  making  the  preceding  portion  of  this 
article  more  intelligible. 

1.  When  the  position  of  a  building  is  such  as  to  make  it 
desirable,  as  a  precaution  against  fire,  the  ground  floor  must 
be  vaulted.  In  the  attic,  and  in  the  first  story,  when  the 
ground  floor  is  not  vaulted,  the  floors  must  be  massive  (as 
described) ,  and  a  layer  of  dry  mortar,  sand  or  other  incom- 
bustible matter,  must  separate  the  beams  from  the  planking. 

2.  Stables  and  hay-lofts  must  have  a  fire-proof  ceiling. 

3.  Booms  for  storing  fuel  must  be,  in  general,  located  in 
the  cellar,  and  built  of  masonry.  When  they  are  in  sheds  of 
but  one  story,  they  must,  in  addition,  have  a  fire-proof  roof. 

4.  In  every  building  fire-proof  stairways  must  communicate 
from  the  attic  to  the  cellar,  and  with  every  dwelling,  by  means 
of  fire-proof  passages.  (This  implies,  that  the  vestibule 
should  be  also  fire-proof;  and  it  is,  in  fact,  invariably  vaulted, 
and  has  a  flooring  of  stone  or  beton.)  In  buildings  of  great 
extent,  there  must  be  several  such  stairways,   sufficient  to 


REPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.         387 

enable  all  persons  dwelling  in  them  to  pass  readily  out  of 
doors. 

5.  When  a  stairway  is  lighted  by  means  of  a  skylight,  the 
frame  of  the  latter  must  be  constructed  entirely  of  iron,  and 
rest,  on  all  sides,  on  masonry  rising  above  the  roof. 

6.  All  stairways  and  passages  connected  with  them  must 
have  a  fire-proof  railing. 

7.  Woodwork  must  be  removed  from  the  interior  surface 
of  all  flues  by  a  thickness  of  at  least  six  inches  of  masonry. 
The  masonry  of  the  chimneys  must  be  plastered  on  the 
exterior,  from  the  pavement  of  the  attic  to  the  highest  point 
of  the  roof. 

8.  Each  story  shall  be  provided  with  at  least  one  separate 
flue,  passing,  without  communication  with  any  other,  to  its 
exit  at  the  roof.  Where  the  beams  of  the  floors  rest  upon  the 
walls  containing  flues,  an  earthen  pipe  shall  be  inserted  into 
the  latter,  having,  for  its  length  at  least,  the  thickness  of  the 
whole  floor ;  and  for  its  thickness,  at  least  one  inch.  Every 
flue  must  have,  at  its  commencement  in  the  lower  story,  and 
also  in  the  attic,  a  side  opening,  closed  by  two  iron  doors, 
closely  shutting,  and  provided  with  a  lock.  Where  several 
flues  lie  side  by  side,  they  shall  be  closed  still  further  by  an 
iron  bar  and  padlock,  extending  over  the  openings  of  all. 
All  woodwork  in  the  vicinity  of  these  doors  must  be  covered 
with  sheet-iron. 

9.  All  roofs  must  be  covered  with  tiles,  slate,  metal  or 
some  other  fire-proof  material.  The  woodwork  of  the  roof 
must  at  no  point  be  nearer  than  six  inches  to  the  pavement  of 
the  attic.  Iron  roof-frames  must  rest  upon  masonry  alone ; 
wooden  cornices  are  forbidden. 

10.  The  attic  roof  must  be  covered  with  tiles,  cement  or 
other  fire-proof  material.  An  iron  door,  hung  in  an  iron 
frame,  must  communicate  alone  from  the  main  stairway  with 
the  attic.  At  least  once,  in  every  ninety  feet  of  its  length,  the 
attic  must  be  subdivided  by  a  brick  wall  running  across  its 
width  and  rising  nine  inches  above  the  roof.  (This  is  generally 
covered  above  with  zinc.)  The  compartments  ensuing  shall 
communicate  with  each  other  only  by  means  of  iron  doors 
hung  in  iron  frames.  No  dwelling-rooms  are  permitted  in 
the  attics  of  buildiusrs. 


388  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

11.  Every  bouse  shall  be  }Drovicled.  with  a  wall  at  least 
six  incbes  thick,  separating  it  from  its  neighbor, — for  the  two 
bouses  thus  ensues  a  wall  of  twelve  inches. 

The  thickness  of  walls  must  be  regulated  by  the  weight 
they  have  to  support  and  the  material  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed ;  also  by  the  height  of  the  stories  and  the  construction 
of  the  floors  and  ceilings. 

The  following  rules  are  to  be  observed  : — 

(a.)  The  principal  outer  walls,  as  well  as  all  interior 
walls,  at  the  point  where  they  contain  flues,  must  be  at  least 
eighteen  inches  thick.  The  principal  walls  of  the  upper  story 
must  be  at  least  two  feet  thick,  if  the  depth  of  the  rooms  is 
more  than  twenty  feet.  The  main  walls  may  have  the  same 
thickness  in  two  successive  stories.  In  buildings  of  three 
stories,  the  main  walls  must,  at  the  ground,  be  at  least  two 
feet  thick ;  in  buildings  of  four  stories,  at  least  two  and  one- 
half  feet  thick.  Those  portions  of  the  main  walls  which  do 
not  support  floors  can  be  made  eighteen  inches  thick  for  all 
stories. 

(h.)  Where  the  ceilings  are  vaulted  and  rest  on  iron  gird- 
ers, in  case  the  latter  are  not  more  than  twenty  feet  long,  the 
walls  supporting  them  need  only  be  eighteen  inches  thick  for 
all  stories;  where  they  are  of  greater  length,  the  walls  must 
be  two  feet  thick. 

(c.)  The  foundation  walls  must,  in  all  cases,  be  six  inches 
thicker  than  those  of  the  lower  story. 

(d.)  In  light  walls,  the  walls  must  be  in  all  cases  eighteen 
inches  thick  where  they  support  ceilings  or  bound  rooms  used 
for  dwelling  purposes.  In  other  cases  they  need  be  only 
twelve  inches  thick. 

(e.)  Walls  supporting  massive  floorings  of  half  or  whole 
trees  (as  described)  must  be  two  feet  thick,  and  the  trees 
must  rest  for  six  inches  at  their  ends  upon  the  same. 

The  thickness  of  walls,  as  seen  by  the  above  extracts  from 
the  laws,  is  flxed  in  no  case  at  more  than  three  feet,  which 
would  occur  in  foundations  where  the  basement  wall  had  two 
and  a  half  feet.     The  Austrian  foot  is  about  one-half  inch 


REPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.  389 

longer  than  the  English,  and  the  thicknesses  fixed  are  in  all 
cases  multiples  of  the  length,  breadth  and  thickness  of  the 
bricks.  The  tendency  is,  however,  in  the  better  buildings,  to 
build  walls  of  still  greater  strength,  and  for  a  variety  of 
reasons.  These  admit,  as  before  mentioned,  of  greater  pro- 
jection of  cornices  ;  they  are  good  non-conductors  of  tem- 
perature, and  remain  in  good  condition  even  after  extensive 
fires.  The  large  size  of  rooms  in  the  newer  houses,  having  in 
general  a  depth  of  twenty-four  feet,  and  a  height  of  twelve  to 
eighteen  feet,  and  the  great  size  of  the  windows,  call  also  for 
an  additional  strength  of  masonry.  The  latter  do  not,  as  with 
us,  slide  up  and  down,  but  fold  back  in  two  wings  on  hinges, 
and  generally  towards  the  interior,  thus  enabling  the  whole 
window  opening  to  be  uncovered,  while  by  our  method 
one-half  of  it  must  always  remain  closed.  To  prevent  the 
projection  of  these  wings  into  the  interior  of  the  rooms  on 
opening,  the  walls  must  be  at  least  three  feet  thick,  of  which 
six  inches  represent  the  distance  the  window  is  set  back  from 
the  front,  six  inches  the  interval  between  the  exterior  and  in- 
terior windows  in  case  they  are  double,  and  two  feet  the  space 
required  for  a  wing  to  fold  back  upon ;  that  is,  three  feet 
in  all  where  the  window  is  four  feet  wide.  In  one  of  the  new 
museums  building  in  Vienna,  a  wall,  at  the  basement  twelve 
feet  in  thickness  and  laid  in  cement,  may  be  seen,  and  others 
of  five  and  six  feet  are  by  no  means  uncommon.  Numerous 
accidents  have  taught  the  builders  care,  and  where  a  wall 
appears  of  insufiicient  thickness  in  the  plans,  it  is  customary 
to  lay  it  in  cement  and  relieve  it  of  the  weight  of  floors  as  far 
as  possible.  In  the  older  buildings,  where  floors  are  vaulted 
from  cellar  to  attic,  the  amount  of  masonry  in  the  walls  is  still 
greater.  The  most  evident  objections  to  all  this  are  the  in- 
creased cost  of  building  and  the  loss  of  room,  which  may  be 
met  by  the  fact  that  in  Vienna,  and  the  Italian  cities  where 
similar  laws  are  in  force,  fires  are  infrequent,  and  if  occur- 
ring, are  productive  of  little  damage  ; — the  additional  cost  may 
thus  be  looked  upon  as  a  good  investment  of  capital.  If  such 
regulations  cannot  be  introduced  in  general  in  America,  some- 
thing might  be  done  to  insure  the  safety  of  human  life,  in 
theatres  and  hotels  especially,  by  requiring  the  construction 
of  substantial  and  fire-proof  stairways  and  passages. 


390 


EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 


In  most  of  the  dwellino^-houses  and  other  build  hi  oi:s  of 
Vienna,  the  stairway  forms  one  of  the  most  important  archi- 
tectural features  of  the  interior.  It  is  of  stone  usually, 
although  of  late  the  French  constructions,  with  the  use  of 
wrought-iron,  are  coming  somewhat  into  vogue.  Where  the 
flights  are  direct,  without  curve,  the  breadth  of  the  steps 
must  be  at  least  four  feet  clear  for  buildings  more  than  two 
stories  high.  The  favorite  form  of  stairway  is  that  in  which 
each  step  is  built  at  one  end  alone,  some  ten  inches  into  the 
wall,  and  is  not  otherwise  supported.  Good  limestone  is 
chiefly  employed  for  this  purpose,  and  stands  very  well  when 
not  subjected  to  violent  shocks  from  heavy  weights.  In  one 
of  the  new  large  hotels,  where  the  steps  are  some  twelve  feet 
long,  these  are  supported  by  double  T  girders,  passing  under 
each  end  and  resting  upon  stone  columns.  Where  the  neces- 
sary space  is  at  hand,  a  three-armed  stairway  is  generally  built 
in  dwelling-houses,  in  each  corner  of  which  a  square  rest- 
ing-place occurs,  formed  by  a  single  stone  built  on  two  of  its 


Plan  of  staircase  in  a  Vienna  house. 


sides  into  the  adjacent  walls.  There  is  a  case  in  Vienna  of 
artificial  stone  being  applied  to  this  purpose  and  standing 
very  well  for  several  years  ; — its  width  and  breadth  are  about 


EEPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY. 


391 


six  feet,  its  thickness   six  inches,  and  its  composition  Kuf- 
steiuer  cement  and  sand. 

I  lived  on  one  occasion  for  several  mouths  in  a  new  house 
in  Vienna,  where  a  stairway  of  the  form  referred  to  exists. 


Section  of  same,  showing  one  story. 

It  is  remarkabl}'^  easy  of  ascent,  and  has  plenty  of  light  and 
air,  provided  by  windows  opening  onto  a  large  court.  It  is 
inclosed,  with  passage,  by  four  walls,  bounding  a  rectangle  of 
eighteen  feet  in  width  by  twenty -two  feet  in  depth ;  on  three 
sides  of  this,  three  fliglits  of  steps,  each  six  feet  in  width,  are 
supported  at  one  end  only ;  on  the  fourth  side  is  a  vaulted 
passage  of  the  same  width,  running  across  from*wall  to  wall, 
and  communicating  with  three  dwellings.  In  each  of  the  two 
opposite  corners  are  resting-places,  six  feet  square,  and  in  the 
centre  of  the  whole  is  an  open  space  measuring  six  feet  by 
ten  feet.  The  breadth  of  each  step  is  thirteen  inches,  and  its 
height  six  inches.  By  law,  these  dimensions  cannot  be  less 
in  the  first  case  than  eleven  inches,  nor  more  in  the  second 
than  six  inches.  In  the  case  of  spiral  stairways,  or  those 
ascending  in  any  curve,  the  breadth  of  the  steps  at  the  dis- 
tance of  eighteen  inches  from  the  walls  must  be  at  least  eleven 
inches,  and  at  the  smaller  end  at  least  five  inches.  All  these 
stairways  are  provided  with  a  metallic  or  stone  railing.     If 


392  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

such  stairways  already  exist  in  a  house,  others  of  wood  are 
also  permitted,  but  their  width  cannot  be  made  less  than  three 
and  one-half  feet,  and  in  their  other  dimensions  they  must 
conform  with  the  laws  already  quoted. 

As  regards  the  general  arrangement  of  dwelling-houses  on 
the  European  plan,  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  any  very 
minute  explanations,  as  instances  of  tlie  same  are  to  be  found 
in  all  the  large  cities  of  America.  Each  European  city,  how- 
ever, has  certain  peculiarities  of  arrangement  distinguishing 
it  from  the  others ;  among  which,  in  Vienna,  certain  are 
worthy  of  note,  while  others  are  such  as  we  should  by  no 
means  anticipate  in  a  large  capital.  The  absence  of  water 
has  occasioned  a  law  requiring  all  gutters  to  empty  directly 
into  the  main-pipe  of  the  water-close-ts.  For  further  purifica- 
tion of  the  latter,  a  tube  passes  from  this  pipe  through  the 
roof  and  offers  an  exit  to  the  accumulating  gases ;  beyond 
this  a  window  opens  directly  from  each  water-closet  upon 
the  air,  often  in  a  light  well,  and  often  to  the  rear  of  the 
house.  Vienna  is,  however,  by  no  means  a  sweetly-smelling 
city,  but  it  is  now  hoped  that  the  fine  new  aqueduct,  bringing 
water  from  the  mountain  springs,  forty  or  fifty  miles  distant, 
will  do  away  with  this  evil.  The  direct  communication  of 
each  water-closet  with  the  exterior  air,  is  a  point  which  we 
unfortunately  do  not  generally  regard.  In  Berlin  I  have  also 
noticed  a  great  neglect  of  this  precaution,  the  privy  being 
there  frequently  placed  in  a  corner  of  the  kitchen,  while  with 
us,  any  point  where  room  is  at  hand,  is  thought  sufficient. 
How  often  do  we  place  it  in  the  interior  of  the  house,  and 
furnish  it  with  light  by  means  of  a  window  opening  into  a 
bedroom  !  In  buiklings  of  great  extent,  interior  court-yards 
are  frequent  here,  and  furnish  light  and  air  to  subordinate 
rooms,  passages  frequently  also  to  Avater-closets.  Where 
these  are  of  great  size,  at  least  sixty  or  seventy  feet  square, 
and  the  sun  can  shine  into  them  several  hours  a  day,  the 
better  apartments  are  also  located  upon  them,  and  are  thus 
secured  from  the  noise  and  dust  of  the  street ;  this  being 
especially  the  case  in  large  schools  and  university  buildings 
where  lecture-rooms  are  frequently  so  placed.  Another  ad- 
vantage is  the  privacy  thus  gained.  Smaller  court-yards, 
measuring  perhaps  thirty  by  forty  feet,  are  often  covered  by 


EEPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.  393 

a  glass  roof,  supported  by  an  iron  frame  and  provided  with  a 
monitor-top  for  ventilation.  The  newer  hotels  of  Vienna  and 
Paris,  as  for  instance  the  Grand  Hotel  of  the  latter  city,  have 
such  covered  courts.  Where  two  buildings  have  their  courts 
adjacent,  it  is  customary  to  carry  the  wall  between  them  up 
to  a  height  of  only  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  The  perspective 
view  gained  from  the  vestibule  into  the  court  is  often  made 
very  pleasing  by  the  presence  of  a  statue  or  fountain  in  the 
latter.  Frequently,  too,  the  wall  just  referred  to,  is  painted 
decoratively  with  architectural  features  which  are  sometimes 
so  contrived  as  to  give  an  appearance  of  increased  depth. 
I  remember  once  looking  through  the  doorway  of  a  modern 
Italian  palace  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Brescia,  and  seeing 
to  my  astonishment  beyond  the  court,  an  extensive  range  of 
meadow,  beyond  which  lay  a  lake  and  villa  with  park.  In 
the  foreground  was  a  fountain,  and  a  row  of  arcades  on  each 
side  terminating  in  a  garden  pavilion.  On  entering  the  vesti- 
bule I  discovered  that  here  was  a  remarkable  combination  of 
the  real  and  unreal.  The  court  was  sown  with  grass,  and 
several  trees  grew  at  irregular  intervals  at  the  sides.  Upon 
a  wall  rising  at  the  rear,  the  grass  and  trees  were  painted  iu 
diminishing  perspective,  while  the  arcades  were  only  for  a 
short  extent  real ;  their  continuation  and  the  garden  pavilions 
being  also  painted  as  the  remainder  of  the  picture,  with 
the  exception  of  the  fountain  in  the  foreground.  The  main 
entrances  of  houses  in  Vienna,  are,  with  few  exceptions,  eight 
to  ten  feet  wide,  and  provided  with  a  driveway,  on  each  side 
of  which  is  a  narrow  footway  raised  several  inches  above  the 
former.  The  height  of  the  buildings  is  fixed  at  four  stories, 
in  addition  to  which  a  half-story  or  mezzanine  is  alloAved, 
separating  the  ground  floor  from  the  first  story.  Mansard 
roofs  are  almost  unknown,  from  the  fact  that  dwellings  not 
being  permitted  in  the  attics,  they  could  serve  no  purpose  but 
that  of  ornamentation. 

Thus  far  little  has  been  said  in  this  article  in  reo:ard  to  the 
International  Exhibition,  since  most  of  the  buildings  there 
are  of  a  temporary  nature,  and,  beyond  their  picturesque  ap- 
pearance, present  little  of  interest.  The  central  rotunda, 
however,  is  a  remarkable  structure,  and,  with  the  emperor's 
pavilion   and  a  few  other  buildings,  will  be  spared  on  the 

50 


394  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

general  demolition  following  the  close  of  the  Exhibition.  It 
is  composed  entirely  of  iron,  is  circular  in  form,  and  covers, 
"With  its  roof,  the  largest  area  as  yet  built  over  without  the 
use  of  interior  columns  or  pillars.  Its  essential  features  arp 
thirty -two  iron  columns,  placed  at  equal  intervals  in  a  circle, 
upon  foundations  of  heton,  and  which  support  as  many  iron 
beams  radiating  towards  the  centre  of  the  circle.  A  ring, 
also  of  iron,  connects  the  tops  of  the  columns  and  takes 
up  the  thrust  of  the  roof,  formed  of  iron  plates  riveted  to 
these  beams.  The  roof  is  of  conical  form,  and  supports  a 
large  and  a  small  lantern.  The  diameter  of  the  circle  is  one 
hundred  and  eight  metres,  and  the  height  of  the  whole  eighty- 
four  metres.  Exterior  to  the  columns  is  a  brick  wall  sup- 
porting an  iron  roof  and  inclosing  the  whole.  The  emperor's 
pavilion  is  chiefly  remarkable  from  the  magnificence  of  the 
interior  decorations,  but  has  been  lost  to  most  of  the  visitors 
at  the  Exhibition,  from  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  entrance. 
Beyond  these,  an  Austrian  building,  composed  entirely  of 
concrete,  is  worthy  of  note.  The  roof  is  vaulted  of  this  ma- 
terial, and  is  above  flat  and  surrounded  by  a  balustrade.  It 
serves  the  purpose  of  a  terrace,  and  is  reached  by  a  stairway 
of  concrete  alone,  and  supported  entirely  by  a  single  arch. 
It  is  claimed  in  Vienna  that  such  buildings  can  be  erected  at 
a  less  cost  than  those  of  brick ;  but  the  difi'erence  appears 
slight,  since  the  walls  must  be  made  somewhat  thicker  of 
concrete,  and,  where  it  is  used  in  such  masses,  great  care 
must  be  taken  to  prevent  its  cracking,  and,  consequently, 
crumbling.  The  experiment  is  an  old  one  ;  and,  at  the  Ex- 
hibition in  Paris  in  1867,  various  laborers'  cottages  were 
built  of  the  material  without  seeming  to  meet  with  general 
favor.  The  English  exhibitors  have  erected,  at  the  present 
Exhibition,  several  cottages  of  corrugated  iron  nailed  to  a 
wooden  frame.  These  have  the  merit  of  cheapness,  but  are 
of  little  value  in  excluding  heat  or  cold.  During  the  hottest 
part  of  the  summer  it  was  excessively  uncomfortable  in  their 
interior,  and,  moreover,  in  one  or  two  cases  where  they  have 
taken  fire,  elsewhere,  they  have  burned  like  tinder.  Wood 
in  connection  with  iron,  for  building  purposes,  is,  in  fact, 
more  dangerous  than  wood  alone.  When  the  latter  has 
reached  a  glowing  heat,  everything  in  its  vicinity  that  is  at 


REPORT  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.  395 

all  combustible  is  instantly  inflamed.  This  is  well  understood 
in  Austria,  as  is  shown  by  the  building-laws  quoted  above, 
which  require  the  separation  of  these  two  substances.  Where 
danger  of  fire  might  arise  from  falling  sparks, — as  in  many 
cases  of  railroad  buildings, — of  course  a  sheet-iron  casing  has 
its  value ;  but  in  general,  where  fire  is  liable  to  occur  within, 
its  use,  to  any  great  extent,  seems  inadmissible. 

Among  the  plans  to  be  seen  at  the  Exhibition,  my  attention 
was  especially  directed  to  those  of  the  new  national  library  at 
Paris,  whose  description  was  appended.  I  translate  a  few  of 
the  principal  particulars.  This  building  is  capable  of  contain- 
ing (2,000,000)  two  million  books  and  manuscripts.  .  Its 
walls  are  all  of  masonry,  while  the  floors,  roofs,  doors  and 
windoAvs  are  all  of  iron.  To  avoid  the  necessity  of  steps  and 
ladders,  all  books  can  be  readily  reached  by  numerous  iron 
balconies,  separated  from  one  another  by  intervals  of  about 
six  and  a  half  feet,  while  the  carpenters'  work  is,  in  general, 
replaced  by  iron  throughout  the  building.  The  roof  is 
covered  by  glazed  tiles,  supported  upon  iron  trusswork,  and, 
at  various  portions  of  the  same,  terraces,  afibrding  access  to 
large  reservoirs,  constantly  filled  with  water,  ofier  additional 
protection  in  case  of  fire.  In  the  large  reading-room,  con- 
taining seats  for  four  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  several  iron 
columns,  of  very  small  diameter,  help  to  support  the  roof. 
These  are  here  in  place  ;  but,  where  there  is  a  large  quantity 
of  combustible  matter  in  the  vicinity,  such  supports  are 
always  dangerous.  As  the  Boston  fire  showed,  they  bend 
immediately  upon  becoming  red  hot,  and  let  everything 
borne  by  them  fall  in  general  destruction ;  granite  proved 
little  better, — cracking  and  falling  rapidly  to  powder  when 
attacked  by  the  flames.  For  magazines  and  store-rooms, — 
especially  those  containing  combustible  matter,  and  where  a 
small  loss  of  room  is  comparatively  unimportant, — brick,  it 
would  seem,  might  be  used  for  pillars  where  these  are  neces- 
sary. Certainly,  no  other  material  has  shown  itself  so  valu- 
able in  case  of  fire. 

Better  than  the  Exhibition,  as  a  field  for  study,  is  the  city 
of  Vienna  itself;  and  I  cannot  do  better  than  describe  its 
finest  building  throughout,  before  closing  this  Report.  For 
its  beauty,  the  solidity  of  its  construction,  its  security  against 


396  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

fire,  and  its  excellent  arrangements  for  ventilation  and  heat- 
ing, the  Vienna  Opera-house  could  well  serve  as  a  model  for 
the  world.  Less  imposing  and  costly  than  the  similar  build- 
ing now  completing  in  Paris,  it  is  nevertheless  admired  by 
all  visitors,  and  is  acknowledged  by  the  French  as  its  rival  in 
convenience  and  taste.  It  was  completed  in  1868  from  the 
funds  gained  by  the  sale  of  land  acquired  by  filling  the 
ancient  military  ditch  and  levelling  the  walls,  and  cost  not 
far  from  six  million  dollars.  The  area  npon  which  it  stands 
has  an  extent  of  eleven  thousand  square  metres,  of  which 
eight  thousand  are  occupied  by  the  building  itself.  Its  form 
is  symmetrical,  and  the  whole  stands  free,  open  on  all  sides  to 
the  view.  The  front  upon  the  opera  ring, — a  section  of  the 
new  boulevards  surrounding  the  interior  city, — presents  two 
superposed  arcades,  containing  five  arches  each,  the  lower 
being  entrances  to  the  main  vestibule,  which  is  reached  from 
this  point  by  crossing  the  jporte-cocJi'ere,  or  at  the  ends  di- 
rectly from  the  sidewalk ;  the  upper  arches  open  upon  a 
loggia,  which  is  richlj^  decorated  with  frescoes,  and  is,  in  the 
evening,  brilliantly  illuminated.  From  the  centre  of  the 
vestibule  ascends  the  main  stairway,  which,  with  its  vaulted 
passages,  covered  with  frescoes  of  light  and  graceful  form 
and  harmonious  colors,  forms  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  por- 
tion of  the  interior.  This  communicates  with  the  private 
boxes  alone,  which  occupy  such  a  large  portion  of  the  gal- 
leries of  all  European  theatres.  To  the  right  and  left  are 
smaller  stairways, — like  the  main  one,  of  course,  all  of  stone, 
— which  lead  to  the  seats  in  the  upper  galleries.  Following 
the  central  line  of  the  building,  are  next — the  parquet  and  the 
front  and  rear  stage.  The  latter,  Avith  their  adjoining  rooms, 
receive  light  from  two  court-yards  measuring  thirty-three  by 
eleven  metres,  and  covered  with  glass.  These  are  situated 
symmetrically  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  central  line,  and 
descend  below  the  level  of  the  street  to  give  light  to  the 
rooms  below  the  stage.  In  the  middle  of  each  side  of  the 
building  is  a  wing,  advancing  some  twenty-five  metres, 
bounding  an  end  of  the  courts  mentioned,  and  containing 
stairways  for  the  emperor  and  arch-dukes.  At  the  rear  of 
the  building  are  two  similar  wings,  connected  with  the  first 
by  arcades,  and  behind  them  a  row  of  shops, — these  bound- 


REPORT  or  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.  397 

ing  the  fourth  side  of  the  courts.  In  these  wings  are  stair- 
cases for  the  actors  and  actresses,  and  in  one  of  the  courts 
are  six  steam-boilers,  connected  with  the  engines  for  heating 
and  ventilation,  and  here  placed  to  avoid  the  injurious  results 
of  an  explosion.  At  the  rear  of  the  building  is  a  central  en- 
trance to  the  rear  stage,  and  to  its  right  and  left  are  situated 
magazines.  At  the  height  of  the  third  gallery,  which  corre- 
sponds with  the  second  story  externally,  a  ceiling  of  iron  and 
brick  covers  the  main  stairway,  and  above  it  is  located  a 
buffet  or  restaurant.  In  the  upper  stories  of  the  four  wings 
are  wardrobes,  rooms  for  scene  painting,  etc.,  to  which  pur- 
pose the  room  over  the  rear  stage  is  also  devoted.  The  ceil- 
ings of  these  rooms  are  all  fire-proof,  and,  of  course,  all  walls 
in  the  interior  of  the  building  are  of  masonry.  Right  and 
left  from  the  stage  are  nine  stories  of  vaulted  passages,  in 
whose  floors  are  water-pipes,  supplied  by  reservoirs  in  the 
attic,  and  furnished  at  short  intervals  with  cocks,  reached  by 
small  iron  doors  in  the  walls.  These  can  throw  powerful 
streams  upon  the  stage  in  case  of  fire.  A  steam-engine,  of 
eight  horse-power,  pumps  water  into  the  reservoir  and  moves 
the  stage  machinery.  It  is  located  in  the  cellar,  under  one 
of  the  wings.  The  auditorium  accommodates  in  all  three 
thousand  persons,  including  six  hundred  standing  places  in 
the  fourth  gallery  and  the  rear  of  the  parquet.  The  breadth 
of  the  stage  is  29  metres  and  its  depth  24.6  metres.  The 
opening  covered  by  the  curtain  is  11.4  metres  high,  and  14.2 
metres  wide.  The  depth  of  the  rear  stage  is  19.9  metres. 
The  exterior  of  the  building  is  covered  by  a  layer  of  stone 
upon  brick,  and,  though  tastefully  treated  architecturally,  is, 
in  general,  simple  in  design.  The  central  -portion  of  the 
building  is  covered  by  a  semi-circular  roof  of  iron,  to  which  is 
hung  the  stage  machinery  and  the  fire-proof  ceilings  over  the 
stage  and  the  auditorium, — the  latter  of  which  is  decorated 
with  paintings  by  the  first  native  artists.  A  wire  curtain  can 
separate  the  stage  from  the  audience  in  case  of  fire.  The 
ventilation  of  the  opera-house  is  conducted  by  means  of  steam- 
pumps,  which  force  in  the  fresh  air  through  a  multitude  of 
small  openings  dispersed  about  the  floor  of  the  parquet,  the 
boxes  and  the  galleries,  thus  occasioning  no  perceptible 
draughts.     The  heated  gases  pass  away  by  an  opening,  four 


398  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

metres  in  diameter,  above  the  central  chandelier  of  the  audi- 
torium. A  steam-engine,  of  twelve  horse-power,  situated  in 
the  cellar  below  the  main  vestibule,  sets  a  fan  some  three 
metres  in  diameter  in  revolution,  which  can  force  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  cubic  metres  of  air  per  hour  into 
the  rooms  above.  The  cellar,  which  is  more  than  seven 
metres  in  height,  acts  as  a  reservoir  for  the  air,  which  is 
drawn  in  through  various  channels,  and  has  here  in  summer 
the  opportunity  to  cool.  It  then  passes  upwards  by  several 
openings  into  the  upper  rooms,  or,  in  winter,  can  be  first  led 
through  a  chamber  heated  by  steam-pipes.  The  system  is  on 
the  largest  scale  ever  as  yet  applied.  Below  the  auditorium 
is  situated  the  inspection-room,  from  which  all  the  machinery 
is  regulated.  Here  the  temperature  is  observed,  the  position 
of  the  valves,  the  steam  pressure,  etc.,  while  speaking-tubes 
and  electrical  wires  communicate  with  all  parts  of  the  build- 
ing- 
Further  information  in  regard  to  this  building  can  be  ob- 
tained from  various  works  published  in  Vienna  ;  among  them 
the  "Technical  Guide," — also  translated  into  French, — which 
appeared  at  the  commencement  of  the  Exhibition ;  also  the 
work  of  A.  Folsch, — "  Fires  in  Theatres  and  their  Protection 
against  the  Same,"  and  others. 

The  subject  of  ventilation,  especially  of  that  of  schools, 
theatres,  public  buildings,  etc.,  is  still  being  investigated 
abroad,  and  every  year  finds  some  advance  in  the  methods 
employed.  In  Glasgow  a  university  building,  recently  com- 
pleted, is  provided  with  a  tower  of  great  height,  in  which  a 
steam-fan  sucks  in  the  air  from  the  summit  and  difi'uses  it 
through  the  building.  In  this  way  a  pure  atmosphere  is 
secured  which  does  not  exist  in  the  lower  strata  of  the  air  of 
this  great  manufacturing  town.  This  is  introduced  through 
numerous  small  openings,  placed  under  the  seats  in  the  lec- 
ture-rooms and  at  the  lower  parts  of  the  walls,  while  the  exit 
of  the  bad  air  above  is  assisted  by  an  additional  engine.  In 
the  new  Exchange  building  of  Vienna,  extensive  provision 
is  being  made  for  thorough  ventilation,  and  below  the  cellar, 
channels  of  great  size,  connecting  with  exterior  openings, 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  square,  furnish  the  requisite  fresh  air. 
Some  of  the  simpler  contrivances  in  coffee-houses  and  dwell- 


REPOET  OF  MR.  NELSON  L.  DERBY.         399 

ings,  ill  this  city,  are  also  worthy  of  note.  Openings  are 
very  often  made  in  the  upper  portions  of  the  walls  connect- 
ing Avith  the  chimneys,  and  in  these  a  gas-flame  assists  the 
draught.  These  are  sufficient  to  carry  off  a  large  portion  of 
the  smoke  and  vitiated  air,  but  unless  some  provision  is 
made  for  introducing  fresh  air  at  various  points,  this  is  sure 
to  make  its  entrance  by  the  cracks  of  the  doors  and  win- 
dows, thus  causing  disagreeable  and  often  dangerous 
draughts. 

One  method  of  obviating  these  is,  to  pass  pipes  con- 
necting with  the  external  air  through  the  stoves,  or  fire-^ 
places,  used  for  heating  the  rooms,  in  which  way  a  draught 
is  produced  and  the  current  is  warmed.  The  practical  result 
is  immediately  evident  in  the  cessation  of  the  cold  currents 
from  the  cracks  of  the  doors  and  windows.  These  particu- 
lars, and  many  others  of  interest,  are  contained  in  a  little 
work  by  Ludwig  Degen,  architect  of  the  city  of  Munich,  on 
the  subject  of  ventilation.  >As  regards  the  applicability 
of  the  methods  of  building  described  in  this  Report,  in  a 
country  like  America,  where  labor  and  material  are  dear,  it 
can  only  be  said  that  they  would  effectually  prevent  the 
recurrence  of  the  great  fires  which  have  proved  so  destruc- 
tive there.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  our  government  is 
sufficientl}'  powerful  to  establish  the  regulations  cited  as 
prevalent  in  Vienna ;  but  certainly  a  description  of  what 
other  nations  are  doing  (us  the  result  of  the  experience  of 
centuries)  is  of  value,  and  will  impart  the  information  on 
the  basis  of  which  the  necessity  of  such  restrictive  laws  can 
alone  be  properly  appreciated.  A  step  can  be  taken  in  the 
right  direction  by  the  proper  construction  of  government 
buildings,  and  by  the  application  of  the  necessary  restric- 
tions to  theatres,  hotels,  school-houses,  and  other  build- 
ings where  fires  could  be  productive  of  great  loss  of 
life.  Beyond  this,  men  of  wealth  and  patriotism  could  set 
a  good  example  by  the  erection  of  private  edifices  of  the 
sort  described,  which  would  have  the  additional  advantage 
of  helping  to  check  the  spread  of  the  flames,  in  the  same 
manner  that  the  Boston  Post-office  has  already  once  done. 

I   have   been  repeatedly  assured  that  it   is  impossible   to 
induce    the   people   at    home   to   build  fire-proof  buildings, 


400  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

unless  they  be  convinced  that  these  are  as  cheap  as  those  at 
present  erected  there.  Now  this  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  prove,  for  it  is  not  true ;  but  when  it  is  generally  under- 
stood that,  in  building  houses  with  thin  walls  and  pitch-pine 
floors  a  crime  is  committed  against  the  public,  it  is  natural 
to  suppose  that  good  citizens  will  cease  from  and  discounte- 
nance such  building,  and  that  laws  can  finally  be  passed 
forbidding  it.  At  the  same  time  the  expenses  may,  in  many 
ways,  be  lessened.  While  a  bricklayer  in  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  (whose  skill  consists  in  making  all  the  joints 
of  a  constant  width,  never  varying  by  the  thickness  of 
paper)  receives  five  dollars  a  day,  the  Italians,  who  are 
renowned  in  Europe  as  the  first  masons  of  the  world  ;  who, 
with  inferior  material,  can  construct  a  wall  not  only  strong 
but  handsome,  and  thoroughly  understand  all  the  jointing  of 
vaults  and  arches,  earn  seventy- five  cents  a  day.  The  ring- 
furnace,  before  referred  to,  produces  bricks  of  inferior  qual- 
ity, but  excellently  adapted  to  the  application  of  mastic,  and 
at  a  greatly  reduced  price.  With  these,  the  thick  walls 
necessary  to  sustain  vaulting  could  be  built  at  a  low  cost, 
which  could  be  still  further  reduced  by  the  importation  of 
Italian  workmen.  The  cheap  terra-cotta  could  be  imported 
from  abroad  at  first,  at  reduced  rates  of  duty,  which  is  cer- 
tainly as  advantageous  as  importing  our  marble  in  wrought 
forms  from  Carrara,  and  other  parts  of  Italy,'  as  is  now  fre- 
quent. 

I  have  heard  it  often  said  that  we  do  not  need  to  build 
fire-proof  buildings,  as  those  erected  would  form  but  a 
small  percentage  of  all  buildings  standing  and  dating  from 
other  periods ;  but  that  we  need  care  and  an  excellent  fire 
department,  and  various  other  things,  all  of  which  are  per- 
fectly true,  with  the  exception  that  we  certainly  also  require 
as  many  fire-proof  buildings  as  we  can  have.  These  points 
are  all-important,  and  should  all  receive  their  proper  consid- 
eration. The  lesson  is  a  hard  one,  but  must  be  sooner  or 
later  learned,  and  those  that  profit  by  it  earliest  will  profit  the 
most.  An  objection  to  the  Viennese  methods  of  building 
has  also  been  brought  forward  by  those  claiming  that,  in 
Paris,  London,  and  other  capitals,  wood  is  used  more  gen- 
erally than  in  Vienna,  and  that  these  cities  are  secure  from 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    NELSON   L.    DERBY.  401 

fires.  The  matter  is  entirely  a  relative  one.  Fires  are  less 
frequent  and  extensive  in  all  European  cities,  except,  perhaps, 
Constantinople,  than  in  America,  for  the  reason  that  there 
is  more  masonry  and  less  wood  in  their  buildings  than  in 
ours.  At  the  same  time,  fires  are  less  frequent  in  Vienna 
than  in  other  European  cities,  for  the  same  reason.  As  I 
write,  the  news  of  the  destruction  of  the  French  Opera-house 
has  arrived,  and  I  feel  little  doubt  that  the  Communists 
would  have  found  much  more  difiiculty  in  destroying  Vienna 
than  they  did  in  their  work  in  Paris  after  the  Franco- 
German  war. 

In  closing  here,  let  me  say  that  the  attempt  has  been 
made  in  this  Report  to  convey  as  much  information  on  the 
various  subjects  treated  as  possible,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  make  it  of  interest  to  the  general  reader.  The  latter  end 
has  been,  at  times,  sacrificed  to  the  former,  as  must  natu- 
rally be  the  case  when  technical  matters  are  treated  of.  The 
writer,  however,  trusts  that  those  who  have  had  the  patience 
to  read  it  to  the  close  will  have  found  matter  for  reflection, 
and  will  be  convinced  of  the  importance  of  some  changes,  at 
least,  in  our  manner  of  building  at  home. 

NELSON  L.  DERBY. 

Vienna,  1873. 

51 


402  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


HAKD  YULCANIZED  INDIA-EUBBEE ;    CALLED,  ALSO, 
EBONITE  AND  YULCANITE. 


BY     JOHN    FRETWELL,    Jr. 


Class  VI.  —  Subdivision  3. 

No  one  who  is  intimate  with  American  manufactures  and 
inventions,  could  inspect  the  Vienna  Exhibition  without  being 
convinced,  that  however  inadequately  our  industries  might  be 
represented  in  the  space  allotted  to  the  United  States  Com- 
mission, and  however  unwilling  our  manufacturers  might  be  to 
exhibit  their  goods  in  a  country  where  they  did  not  seek  a 
market  for  them,  the  inventive  genius  of  Americans  had 
contributed  very  largely  to  the  goods  and  machinery  exhibited 
by  other  nations. 

One  instance  of  this  fact  is  to  be  found  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  Hard  Vulcanized  India-rubber. 

It  appeared  in  the  American  Court  only  in  one  form ;  as  a 
part  of  the  penholders  at  the  gold  pen  stands  ;  and  yet,  invented 
by  the  American  Goodyear,  the  subject  of  many  American  pa- 
tents and  patent  lawsuits,  and  manufactured  by  the  New  York 
Rubber  Comb  Company,  the  Vulcanite  Jewelry  Company,  the 
Novelty  Rubber  Company,  and  Austin  G.  Day,  it  might  have 
claimed  a  prominent  place  among  American  industries  at  the 
Universal  Exhibition. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  names  accompanying  the  exhibits  of 
the  Russian  American  Company  of  St.  Petersburg,  in  the 
Rotunda,  and  of  the  American  Rubber  Company  of  Mannheim, 
and  the  New  York  Hamburg  Company  of  Hamburg,  in  the 
German  Annexe,  gave  evidence  of  their  American  origin. 

The  Scottish  Vulcanite  Company  of  Edinburgh  pwes  its 
establishment,  in  part  at  least,  to  American  capital  and  enter- 
prise, while  the  pamphlet  distributed  by  the  chief  European 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    J.    FEET  WELL,    JR.  403 

manufacturer  of  vulcanite,  H.  C.  Meyer,  Jr.,  of  Hamburg, 
whose  lofty  column  of  this  material  formed  the  most  promi- 
nent of  all  the  hard  rubber  exhibits,  expressly  states  that  his 
manufacture  of  this  article  originated  in  the  purchase  of  Good- 
year's  American  patent  in  1851,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
factory  at  New  York,  the  forerunner  of  that  now  carried  on 
by  the  New  York  India-rubber  Comb  Company,  at  College 
Point. 

The  process  of  manufacturing  this  hard  compound  in  India- 
rubber  is  too  well  known  to  need  a  long  description  here.  The 
raw  material  is  first  cleansed  from  the  impurities  with  which 
it  is  mixed  in  the  process  of  collection,  is  then  incorporated 
with  sulphur,  or  other  vulcanizing  material,  and  subjected, 
under  careful  exclusion  from  the  atmosphere,  to  a  heat  of  from 
270°  to  310°  Fahrenheit,  being,  while  in  a  soft  condition,  rolled 
into  sheets  or  pressed  into  moulds,  whose  form  it  retains  after 
being  vulcanized.  By  the  addition  of  various  pigments  it  can 
be  colored,  and  samples  of  red,  brown,  yeHow  and  mottled 
vulcanite  were  exhibited  by  H.  C.  Meyer,  Jr.,  of  Hamburg. 

So  far  as  the  various  processes  of  manufacture  are  concerned, 
the  means  of  hardening  the  material,  of  giving  it  a  perma- 
nent polish,  and  protecting  it  against  atmospheric  and  solar 
influence,  of  coloring  and  working  it,  etc.,  nothing  new  could 
be  learned  at  Vienna.  These  processes  are  treated  as  secrets 
in  Germany,  and  not,  as  here,  published  in  the  patent  specifica- 
tions. 

The  show-cases  of  H.  C.  Meyer,  Jr.,  of  Hamburg,  gave  a 
comprehensive  view  of  all  the  purposes  to  which  the  hard  rub- 
ber has  hitherto  been  successfully  applied. 

The  column  itself,  a  homogenous  cylinder  of  intensely  black, 
highly  polished  vulcanite,  was  in  itself  an  illustration  of  the 
extent  to  which  the  great  technical  difficulties  connected  with 
the  manufacture  of  large  masses  of  the  material,  hitherto  em- 
ployed almost  exclusively  for  small  articles,  have  been  sur- 
mounted. 

Other  exhibits  were  patterns  of  vulcanite  sheets  of  various 
colors  used  as  veneers,  and  for  the  manufacture  of  combs, 
buttons,  paper-knives,  checks,  eye-glass  frames,  counters, 
black  piano-keys,  knife-handles,  whalebone  substitute,  etc. 
But  it  was  in  the  manufacture  of  moulded  articles  of  irregular 


404  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

form  that  the  greatest  progress  had  been  made.  While  the 
deep  blackness,  ease  of  working  and  capability  of  receiving  a 
high  polish,  long  ago  suggested  the  use  of  vulcanite  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  fashionable  but  more  expensive  and  brittle 
English  jet,  its  plastic  qualities  have  not  been  employed  here 
to  so  large  extent  as  in  Europe.  The  Hamburg  house  first 
availed  itself  of  these  qualities  in  1864,  and  initiated  thereby 
a  revolution  in  the  rubber  jewelry  manufacture,  making,  at  a 
low  price,  copies  of  the  boldest  and  finest  carvings,  and  apply- 
ing it  to  all  purposes  of  plastic  ornament,  from  the  smallest 
articles  of  jewelry  to  statues,  such  as  those  exhibited  in  the 
gardens  of  the  Vienna  Exhibition,  and  having  in  their  light 
brown  color,  their  sharpness  of  outline,  and  capability  of  re- 
sisting the  weather,  some  resemblance  to  the  more  expensive 
bronze. 

The  properties  of  rubber  as  a  non-conductor  of  electricity 
have  been  largely  utilized  in  the  manufacture  of  electro-mag- 
netic instruments  for  telegraphic  purposes ;  but  owing  to 
some  technical  difficulties  it  has  not  been  so  largely  employed 
for  insulating  open-air  telegraph  wire  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. In  Europe  it  has  been  used  for  this  purpose  as  a 
substitute  for  glass  and  porcelain  on  the  telegraph  lines  of 
Eussia,  Denmark  and  North  Q-ermany,  with  so  much  success 
as  to  show  that,  if  more  expensive  in  first  cost  than  the  materials 
hitherto  used,  it  was,  in  the  long  run,  more  economical  and 
efiectual.  The  Prussian  government  have  used  large  quanti- 
ties of  the  vulcanite  insulators  for  their  military  telegraphs  in 
their  operations  against  Austria  and  France,  and  a  certificate 
by  the  Prussian  director  of  telegraphs,  Major-Geueral  von 
Chauvin,  bears  evidence  to  the  excellence  of  Meyer's  vulcanite 
for  this  purpose. 

By  far  the  largest  quantity  of  vulcanite  manufactured,  is 
used  for  the  production  of  combs,  of  which  one  factory  alone,  . 
the  Harburg  India-rubber  Comb  Company,  have  made  and 
sold  10,800,000  combs  of  this  material  in  one  year.  In  the 
manufacture  of  this  article,  there  are  no  new  processes  to  be 
noted,  but  only  the  excessively  low  price  of  many  of  the  goods 
produced.  Rubber  surgical  instruments,  syringes,  etc.,  have 
hitherto  been  a  specialty  of  New  York,  and  those  exhibited  in 
the  German  Annexe,  in  the  show-case  of  the  Hamburg  New 


EEPOET   OF   MR.    J.    FRETWELL,    JR.  405 

York  Company,  were  on  show-cards  which  bore  the  imprint 
of  an  American  company.  While  the  field  of  application  for 
hard  vulcanized  India-rubber  is  being  extended  every  year, 
the  supply  of  the  raw  material  is  comparatively  limited,  and 
the  English  government  have  lately  caused  investigations 
to  be  made  with  a  view  to  extend  its  culture. 

JOHN  FEETWELL,  Junior. 


406  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 


THE  MACHINERY  OF  THE  YIEMA  EXPOSITION. 


BY    HAMILTON    A.    HILL. 


Group    XIII. 

For  Group  XIII.  the  Austrians  provided  an  entirely  sepa- 
rate building,  which  ran  from  its  westerly  entrance  towards 
the  east  and  parallel  with  the  main  Exposition  building,  for  a 
distance  of  2,625  feet.  It  was  itself  a  very  large  structure, 
one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  wide  and  covering  an  area  of 
nearly  ten  acres.  Even  this  space  proved  by  far  too  small, 
and  all  that  could  by  any  reasonable  construction  be  placed 
among  agricultural  or  other  special  groups  for  which  separate 
buildings  were  erected,  was  excluded  from  the  general  hall. 
The  portion  of  the  agricultural  buildings  devoted  to  machinery 
covered  about  three  acres  more.  Many  leading  manufactur- 
ing establishments  also  preferred  to  erect  their  own  structures 
and  to  make  private  exhibitions  therein.  These  probably 
covered  two  acres  more.  So  that  the  whole  machinery 
exhibits,  including  boiler-houses,  pumping-works  and  heavy 
machines  not  under  shelter,  covered  an  area  of  not  less  than 
sixteen  acres. 

The  main  hall  consisted  of  a  central  roof,  resting  on  a 
double  line  of  arches,  above  which  were  the  windows  which 
lighted  the  interior.  Upon  each  side  of  this  central  portion 
were  wide  aisles  outside  the  arches,  covered  with  lean-to  roofs, 
which  rested  against  the  walls  above  the  arches,  but  below  the 
windows.  Along  the  centre  of  this  hall  was  set  up  a  high  iron 
frame-work  which  carried  the  shafting  by  which  power  was 
furnished  to  the  numerous  machines  in  motion  from  the 
various  engines  on  exhibition.  With  the  exception  of  a  small 
line  of  cold-rolled  shafting  put  up  to  drive  the  shoe  machinery 
exhibited  in  the  American  department,  there  was  no  power 
carried  into  the  side  aisles.  They  were  devoted  to  steam- 
pumps,  hammers  and  machinery  not  in  motion.     As  the  dif- 


SPECIAL   REPORT   OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.         407 

ferent  nations  were  arranged  geographically,  as  in  the  Indus- 
try Palace,  comparisons  were  easily  made.* 

The  relative  space  occupied  by  each  of  the  different  nations 
is  given  in  the  note  to  page  76  of  these  reports. 

In  regard  to  the  character  of  the  various  exhibitions,  it  may 
be  said  in  general  terms  that  the  American  display  was  more 
interesting,  and  attracted  more  notice  than  any  other.  While 
to  Americans  the  prominent  feeling  was  one  of  regret  that  a 
far  greater  number  of  our  labor-saving  inventions  and  ma- 
chines were  not  there,  foreigners  were  much  amazed  that 
among  so  small  a  number  of  exhibits  there  was  so  much  that 
was  original.  The  power  of  our  American  inventors  of  see- 
ing the  precise  object  to  be  attained,  and  of  producing  a  ma- 
chine which  will  attain  that  object  in  the  most  direct  and  sim- 
ple manner,  regardless  of  the  way  in  which  the  same  or 
similar  things  have  been  done  before,  was  a  matter  of  general 
comment.  I 

*  The  Exhibition  building  in  London,  in  1851,  covered  800,000  square  feet;  in  1862, 
971,288  feet.  At  Paris,  in  1867,  1,581,725.  The  Exposition  at  Vienna,  including  the 
main  building,  the  machinery  hall,  the  east  and  west  agricultural  hall  and  the  art- 
buildings,  covered  about  2,000,000  feet,  or  nearly  50  acres. 

t  The  following  extract  from  a  report  of  Prof.  Renleaux,  Director  of  the  Industrial 
Academy  of  Berlin,  illustrates  this  point : — 

"  In  the  department  of  inventions  there  were  displayed  but  a  small  number  of  very 
extraordinary  novelties.  In  this  department  America  held  the  first  place.  Her  dis- 
play of  machinery  was  almost  wholly  original  in  its  character.  *****  Upon 
the  whole  it  may  be  affirmed  that  England  has  in  part  lost  her  late  and  undeniable 
superiority,  or  that  she  is  soon  to  lose  it.  The  young  and  vigorous  activity  across  the 
ocean  *****  makes,  with  her  original  talent,  the  greatest  progress.  So 
that  ere  long  we  must  look  to  the  west  rather  than  to  England.  *****  The 
American  aims  direct  at  the  desired  end,  using  those  means  which  seem  to  him  the 
most  simple,  whether  new  or  well  known.  *****  The  American  constructs, 
in  fact,  in  accordance  with  the  strictest  rules  of  abstract  thought,  looking  on  one  side 
only  to  the  end  which  he  has  marked  out  for  himself.,  weighing  on  the  other  side  the 
methods  already  in  use,  or  producing  new  methods  without  feeling  the  influence  of 
what  has  been  done,  and  finally  sti-ikes  direct  for  that  object.  *****  A 
proper  consideration  of  this  course  of  action  suggests  the  most  instructive  hints  for 
our  institutions  of  technical  science." 

The  terms  of  the  award  of  the  Diploma  of  Honor,  given  to  Sellers  of  Philadelphia, 
is  to  the  same  effect.    It  was  given, — 

"For  preeminent  achievements  in  the  invention  and  construction  of  machine  tools, 
many  of  which  have  been  adopted  as  patterns  by  the  constructors  of  tools  in  all 
countries." 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  declaration  of  Mr.  Charles  Hibbs,  one  of  the  artisan  com- 
mission of  Great  Britain  to  the  Vienna  Exposition  : 

"  There  is  in  the  American  work  such  an  evident  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  such 
a  direct  aim  at  the  use  to  be  made  of  the  weapon  and  its  various  parts,  such  a  palpa- 
ble thrusting  aside  of  all  considerations  but  those  of  serviceableness  and  durability, 
j;hat  the  merest  glance  below  the  surface  impresses  one  strongly  with  the  thoroughly 
practical  character  of  the  transatlantic  mind." 


408  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Of  the  quality  of  our  work,  as  well  as  of  its  ingeuuity,  we 
had  every  reason  to  be  proud.  It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that 
to-day  the  average  character  of  our  machines  excels  in  this 
respect  that  of  every  other  nation.* 

The  English  exhibition  of  machinery  was  much  smaller  and 
more  meagre  than  was  to  have  been  expected.  It  is  possible 
the  distance  discouraged  their  manufacturers,  but  a  more 
prominent  reason  would  seem  to  be  the  degree  to  which  the 
Germans  are  beginning  to  copy  from  them  everything  good 
brought  to  their  notice.  There  is  also  observable,  I  think, 
less  energy  in  pushing  themselves  and  their  productions  than 
in  former  times.  In  this  they  present  a  great  contrast  to  the 
Germans,  who,  especially  since  their  late  wars,  seem  to  be 
awakening  in  every  direction.  As  the  German  marine  is  said 
to  be  taking  the  place  of  the  English  in  many  waters,  so  in 
the  matter  of  manufactures  they  are  very  ambitious  of  re- 
placing the  English,  at  least  on  the  continent;  and  it  seems  to 
be  the  general  testimony  of  the  English  observers  that  they 
will  have  to  bestir  themselves  if  they  would  .prevent  this. 

Although  this  industrial  activity  has  manifested  itself, 
especially  under  the  stimulus  of  the  great  events  of  the  Aus- 
trian and  Prussian  wars,  it  is  in  reality  principally  a  result  of 
the  system  of  thorough,  universal  and  enforced  education 
which  has  been  established  in  the  different  countries  of  Ger- 
many for  the  better  part  of  a  generation,  and  which  is  now 
beginning  to  show  itself  in  a  class  of  workingmen  far  more 
sober,  industrious,  intelligent  and  educated  than  the  average 
English  workman.  It  is  true  they  have  not  yet  acquired  all 
those  details  of  manual  dexterity  which  are  the  inheritance  of 
some  classes  of  Englishmen,  but  they  are  fast  learning  all 
that  can  be  acquired  by  instruction  from  English  foremen  now 
employed  in  many  of  the  continental  establishments. 

While,  however,  the  continental  factories  are  producing 
machinery  in  considerable  quantities,  and  at  very  moderate 
cost,  they  are  almost  absolutely  dead,  so  far  as  any  originality 
or  invention  is  concerned.     To  an  American,  the  lack  of  ideas 

*  "  I  was  surprised  to  find  so  small  a  space  allotted  to  a  nation  (America)  which, 
if  not  producing  the  best  machines  in  the  world,  certainly  stands  second  to  none,  and 
it  must  be  admitted ,  turns  out  machinery  of  faultless  workmanship  of  modern  design, 
and  tools  of  the  newest  and  best  description, — a  fact  which  is  proved  by  the  number 
of  continental  manufacturers  making  tools  exactly  the  same  as  their  (American) 
patterns." — Artisan  Reports  on  Vienna  Exposition,  p.  177.    Manchester. 


SPECIAL   EEPOET    OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.         409 

of  their  own  is  curiously  manifest ;  nearly  all  of  their  forms, 
styles,  and  even  details  of  construction,  are  borrowed  from  the 
English  or  the  Americans.  In  fact,  they  seem  rather  to  pride 
themselves  on  skilful  copying,  and  in  the  Exposition  they  dis- 
played, with  an  air  of  satisfaction,  machines  constructed  exactly 
from  American  tools,  which  they  must  have  taken  to  pieces 
for  the  purpose.  Such  was  the  case  with  a  prominent 
Prussian  house,  which  presented  exact  duplicates  of  the  manu- 
factures of  some  of  our  New  England  tool-makers.  It  is 
satisfactory  to  learn  that  the  Prussian  government,  in  placing 
their  orders  lately  for  some  tools,  passed  by  this  establish- 
ment and  gave  the  work  to  the  American  house,  whose  ideas 
it  had  stolen,  to  the  extent  of  more  than  a  million  dollars. 
Were  it  not  that  we  stand  in  much  the  same  position  in  regard 
to  copyright  matters,  as  the  Germans  in  inventions,  we  might 
with  reason  complain  of  the  morals  of  these  gentlemen.  As 
it  is,  they  meet  any  objections  of  American  inventors  with  this 
comparison.*  In  searching  for  the  cause  of  this  great 
difference  in  inventive  power  between  the  Germans  and  other 
continental  nations  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  English,  and 
still  more  the  Americans  on  the  other,  the  prominent  influence 
appears  to  rest  in  the  stimulus  of  our  patent  system.  Of  the 
influence  of  this  constant  possibility  of  wealth,  through  inven- 
tion, we  can  form  no  conception  till  we  see  the  work  of 
countries  whose  industrial  class  is  without  it.  It  is  stated,  and 
with  great  probability,  that  two-thirds  of  our  whole  manufact- 
uring capital  in  the  United  States  is  occupied  in  the  production 
of  objects  covered  by  patents.  The  inventive  power  of  our 
people,  and  the  influence  of  our  patent  laws,  as  shown  in  our 
exhibits  at  Vienna,  made  a  great  impression  on  the  continental 
mind^  Had  our  authorities  caused  us  to  be  adequately  rep- 
resented, and  had  we  shown  a  Mr  amount  of  our  peculiar 
labor-saving  inventions,  the  impression  would  have  been  pro- 
found. As  it  is,  through  the  means  of  the  Patent  Congress,  an 
excellent  opportunity  w^as  found  for  illustrating  the  matter, 
and  the  writer  fully  believes  that  they  are  awakening  to  the 
importance  of  the  influence  of  an  adequate  recompense  to  in- 
vention as  a  stimulus  to  industry. 

*  In  the  Patent  Congress,  held  at  Vienna,  this  was  the  constant  comparison  most 
disagreeably  advanced  in  reply  to  the  arguments  of  those  who  were  in  favor  of  a. 
patent  system  in  Europe. 
62 


410  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA.    *" 

Among  other  points  which  were  had  in  consideration,  and 
on  which  an  endeavor  was  made  to  obtain  some  information, 
was  tliat  of  wages  of  mechanics  in  Europe,  and  in  connection 
with  this  topic  the  prices  at  which  their  manufactures  are 
sold.  This  last  topic  will  have  the  more  importance  for  us 
if,  as  is  to  be  hoped,  we  shall  before  long,  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Centennial  or  otherwise,  begin  to  regain  the 
exporting  business  which  we  had  before  the  war  of  the 
rebellion. 

The  following  are  the  rates  of  wages  ascertained  in  Austria 
and  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  In  Austria  the  wages  were  re- 
ported to  be  as  follows,  the  amounts  reduced  to  American 
currency,  at  a  premium  of  ten  per  cent : — 

Engineers  and  mechanics  per  day, $1  35 

Cabinet-makers  and  joiners, 1  05 

Plumbers, 48 

Laborers, 40 

Farm  laborers  per  year,  board,  lodging  etc,  included,         .        .  27  00 

Hours  of  labor  per  week,  sixty  to  sixty-five.  In  the  year, 
including  Sundays,  seventy-six  holidays. 

Cost  of  living  in  the  large  towns  per  jear  :  Board,  $200  ; 
Lodgings,  $53  ;  Clothing,  $32. 

In  Vienna  the  wages  in  a  large  locomotive-works  were 
given  :     Ordinary  mechanics,  $1.32  ;  Best  mechanics,  $1.80. 

The  following  were  the  rates  of  wages  in  difierent  European 
countries,  as  gathered  from  workmen  at  the  various  stands. 
It  is  reduced,  as  above,  to  present  values  in  American 
currency  : — 

England,  skilled  men  in  engine   and  macliine-shops   (nine 

hours), fl  68 

France,  skilled  men  (ten  hours), ■  .     1  05 

Belgium  (ten  hours), 94 

Switzerland  (ten  hours), 1  25 

Italy, 1  14 

Sweden  and  Norway  (eleven  hours), 1  19 

Germany, 1  30 

Bohemia  (eleven  hours), 1  00 

Hungary  (eleven  houi's), '156 

Note. — See  Artisan  Reports  (British)  to  Vienna  Expositions.  Manchester:  1873. 
Pages  44-199. 


SPECIAL* REPORT   OP   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.         411 

Group  thirteen,  wfis  divided  in  the  Exhibition  catalogues 
into  the  followino'  sub-divisions  : — 

1.  Prime  movers  of  all  kinds. 

2.  Machines  for  transmitting  power. 

3.  Machinery  for  working  various  kinds  of  material,  iron 
and  wood-working  machinery,  and  machines-  and  tools  for 
every  variety  of  special  work,  as  spinning,  weaving,  etc., 
paper,  sugar,  ice,  etc.,  etc. 

4.  Other  machinery  not  included  in  the  above,  as  blast 
engine-pumps,  fire-engines,  etc. 

5.  Materials  and  parts  of  machinery, 

6.  Railway  machinery  and  apparatus,  including  locomo- 
tives. 

7.  Mountings,  fittings,  supplies,  etc. 

8.  Vehicles  not  connected  with  rail. 

9.  Statistics  of  production,  etc. 

The  writer  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  great  mass 
of  exhibits  displayed  at  the  Exposition,  and  included  under 
these  various  heads.  Attention  will  only  be  drawn  to  some 
of  the  leading  points  suggested  by  their  study,  and  to  a  few 
machines  which  by  their  novelty  or  importance  would  be 
particularly  deserving  our  notice.  The  great  collection  of 
special  machinery  in  the  third  department  could  only  be  prop- 
erly presented  by  specialists  in  each  industry,  and  the  writer, 
except  in  the  cases  of  the  general  iron  and  wood-working 
tools,  will  not  undertake  to  speak  of  them.  Some  are  noticed 
by  other  writers  in  their  special  reports  ;  others  belong  to  in- 
dustries on  which  adequate  reports  could  not  be  obtained. 

Beginning  with  the  topic  of  prime  movers,  we  speak  first 
of  boilers.  Thirty-five  of  these  were  exhibited  at  Vienna. 
Those  in  use,  which,  contrary  to  the  plan  in  Paris,  were  fur- 
nished by  the  various  nations,  each  for  their  own  motive-power, 
were  placed  in  detached  buildings  on  the  north  side  of  the 
machinery-hall,  and  the  steam  was  carried  under  ground  to 
the  various  engines  which  used  it.  To  prevent  accidents  from 
explosion,  the  various  boilers  were  all  placed  in  pits,  properly 
walled  up  and  roofed  over  with  neat  buildings,  whose  gable- 
ends  towards  the  machinery-hall  were  open.     A  breast-high 


412  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

balustrade  ran  across  the  front,  over  which  the  working  of  the 
boilers  could  be  easily  studied. 

The  boilers  themselves  embraced  all  the  prominent  types, 
cylinder,  flue,  tubular,  and  those  known  as  tubulous,  or 
containing  the  water  within  small  tubes.  The  cylinder  boil- 
ers were  mostly  variations  of  what  is  known  as  the  French, 
or  elephant,  which  consists  of  one  cylinder  of  large  diame- 
ter, connected  by  large  tubes,  or  pipes,  with  two  more 
smaller  ones  above  it.*  The  flue-boilers  were  best  repre- 
sented by  the  Galloway  and  Adamson  exhibits.  The  former 
are  well  known  by  the  cross-tubes,  of  a  long  tunnel  shape, 
which  extend  across  the  flues.  The  latter  are  similar,  except 
that  the  cross-tubes  are  not  all  perpendicular. 

The  tubular  boilers  were  represented  by  one  of  the  ordi- 
nary American  type,  in  our  department,  contributed  by  Pit- 
kin &  Co.,  of  Hartford,  Ct.,  by  some  of  a  nearly  similar 
character  in  use  by  the  Germans,  and  by  those  exhibited  by 
Cater  &  Walker,  of  England.  The  latter  received  the  prod- 
ucts of  combustion  after  they  had  passed  under  the  boiler 
into  a  smoke-box  in  the  body  of  the  cylinder  near  the  rear 
end,  whence  they  passed  by  a  number  of  longitudinal  tubes 
to  another  smoke-box  near  the  front,  and  were  finally  deliv- 
ered into  the  smoke-stack,  at  the  rear,  by  another  series  of 
tubes. 

Among  the  tubulous  boilers  were  those  of  Howard  & 
McMchol  among  the  English,  and  Belleville  among  the 
French.  The  McNichol  is  used  particularly  in  connection 
with  paper-pulp  machinery,  and  was  designed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  the  very  high  pressures  desirable. 

One  striking  variation  from  our  practice  was  in  the  large 
diameters  of  the  boilers  used,  especially  by  the  English. 
The  boilers  spoken  of  above  (Galloway^s,  Adamson's  and 
Cater's)  were  five  feet  in  diameter. 

Another  point,  especially  marked  among  the  Germans, 
was  the  manner  in  which  they  added  to  their  main  boilers 
supplementary  boilers,  or  heaters,  into  which  the  water  first 
passed.     In   some   cases    small   boilers ;  in  others,  coils  or 

*  A  number  of  these  boilers  are  in  use  in  one  of  our  large  mills  in  Massachusetts. 
Of  them  the  Agent  said  that,  in  a  test,  they  showed  the  poorest  results  of  any  boilers 
tried,  but  in  practice  bad  proved  about  the  most  economical  and  the  least  trouble 
some. 


SPECIAL   REPORT   OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.         413 

special  tubular  boilers,  coutaiuing  nearly  as  much  heatiug 
surface  as  the  main  boiler,  were  placed  in  the  flues.  By  thus 
causino;  the  colder  water  to  meet  first  the  coolest  erases, 
they  undoubtedly  use  their  heating  surface  to  the  best  advan- 
tage. The  writer  was  unable  to  learu  whether  they  had  had 
enough  experience  in  this  practice  to  have  encountered  the 
(difficulty  which  has  made  trouble  with  us ;  to  wit,  the  rapid 
rusting  of  the  heaters  containing  the  cooler  water. 

As  no  experiments  nor  tests  were  made,  little  knowledge 
could  be  gained  of  the  comparative  merits  of  different  sys- 
tems of  boilers.  It  is  suggested  here,  that  should  the  Phil- 
adelphia Exposition  include  exhibits  of  working-boilers,  as 
did  the  Vienna,  that  it  would  be  advisable  that  the  United 
States  government  should  detail  a  number  of  officers  to 
make  thorough  experiments  therewith. 

A  large  number*  of  engines  were  to  be  seen  in  the  Expo- 
sition grounds,  probably  over  a  hundred  and  twenty,  includ- 
ing marine,  winding  and  blowing  engines,  portable  engines 
in  the  Agricultural  Hall,  and  stationary  ones,  of  various 
types,  in  the  Machinery  Building.  Some  of  these  were  very 
large.  A  pair  of  rolling-mill  engines,  exhibited  b}'^  the 
Prag  machineubau  actien  gesellshaft,  had  cylinders  43  by 
81  inches,  and  were  calculated  for  a  piston-speed  of  850  feet 
per  minute. 

An  upright  compound  blowing  engine,  by  the  Societe 
Cockerill,  of  Liege,  had  a  blowing-cylinder  118  inches  in 
diameter  by  7  feet  4|  inch  stroke ;  the  steam-cylinders  being 
28.74  and  41.73  inches  diameter.  This  is  the  one  hundred 
and  third  engine  of  its  type  built  by  the  Company. 

A  number  of  steamboat  engines  were  shown,  of  different 
sizes,  adapted  to  the  coast,  river  and  lake  traffic  of  Europe. 
With  one  exception,  we  believe,  these  were  compound  ;  that 
is,  after  using  the  steam  at  high  pressure  in  one  cylinder,  it 
is  exhausted  into  another  larger  cylinder  at  much  lower 
pressure.  These  engines  were,  many  of  them,  for  side-wheel 
boats;  and  those  for  this  purpose  were  all,  or  nearly  all, 
oscillating ;  the  cjdinders  being  situated  perpendicularly, 
or  at  an  angle  under  the  wheel-shaft.  Of  the  dozen  or 
more  portable  engines,  the  majority  were  exhibited  by  the 
English,  who  have  a  large   and  flourishing  exporting  trade 


414  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

extending  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Austria,  Hungary  and 
Kussia  afford  to  them  a  market  something  like  that  which 
we  find  in  the  same  region  for  our  mowers  and  reapers. 

These  portables  were  very  thoroughly  built,  with  large 
boilers  and  very  large  fire-boxes.  The  engines  were  almost 
universally  steam-jacketed.  Of  the  eighty  or  ninety  engines 
in  the  Machinery  Hall  by  far  the  majority  were  slide-valve, 
with  a  cut-off  on  the  back  of  the  main  valve.  Of  these,  the 
better  class  were  arranged  to  alter  the  cut-off  valve  by  hand. 
A  few  were  governed  by  the  automatic  variations  of  the  cut- 
off valve,  either  through  a  link  or  through  a  movement  of 
the  eccentric.  In  three  cases  of  the  latter  type  of  engines 
the  governor  was  placed  on  the  main  shaft,  in  one  way  or 
another,  the  shaft  being  also  the  governor  shaft,  and  the 
momentum  of  the  balls  being  resisted,  of  course,  by  springs. 

Quite  a  considerable  proportion  of  these  engines  were  built 
with  the  Corliss  style  of  frames,  which  seem  to  be  much  in 
favor  in  Europe ;  and  some  eight  were  fitted  with  the  Cor- 
liss valve  and  cut-otf,  with  such  variations  as  the  experience 
of  different  makers  suggested.* 

Although  the  Corliss  cut-off  and  valve  have  been  adopted 
by  at  least  two  English  engineering  firms,  there  were  no  ex- 
hibits by  them,  except  of  slide-valve  engines,  and  it  may  be 
stated  generally  that  the  English  look  much  more  universally 
than  we,  to  simplicity  and  endurance  as  the  first  qualities  in 
their  machines.  The  continental  builders  have  quite  gener- 
ally adopted  this  type  for  engines,  for  such  purposes  as  cotton 
and  woollen-mills,  and  other  situations  where  economy  is  a 
serious  consideration. 

The  question  of  the  adoption  of  steam-jacket  was  examined 
by  the  writer.  The  English  makers,  with  one  exception,  had 
their  cylinders  on  this  principle,  on  every  engine  which  pre- 
tended to  be  built  with  an  eye  to  economy. I  Even  their 
portables  were,  with  the  exception  of  Garrett  &  Sons',  designed 

*  The  extent  to  which  this  engine  has  been  adopted  by  the  continental  builders, 
who  have  copied  it  from  the  English  makers,  is  another  example  of  the  necessity  to 
our  inventors  of  a  better  patent  law  in  Europe.  It  is  true  the  jury,  in  this  branch, 
had  the  grace  to  give  to  Mr.  Corliss  one  of  the  nine  diplomas  of  honor  accorded  to 
the  United  States,  although  he  himself  exhi))ited  nothing. 

t  Mr.  Bourne,  an  eminent  English  authority,  in  the  last  edition  of  his  work  on  steam- 
engines,  goes  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  advantages  of  any  considerable  rate  of  ex- 
pansion are  wholly  lost  without  the  use  of  the  steam-jacket. 


SPECIAL   EEPORT   OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   IMACHINERY.         415 

ill  this  way.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  leading  Eng- 
lish firms  have  for  a  long  time  been  in  the  habit  of  consultinof 
the  scientific  men  of  their  technical  schools,  and  have  adopted 
the  principle  of  steam-jacketing  after  a  most  thorongh  under- 
standing of  its  advantages,  which  are  a  subject  of  the  most 
exact  mathematical  demonstration,  depending  upon  the 
degree  of  expansion.  Following  their  lead,  the  principle  has 
become  one  of  general  adoption  among  the  English  engineers. 
It  has  equally  come  into  use  with  the  leading  continental 
manufiicturers,  who  study  economy  of  fuel,  and  we  believe  all 
the  variable  engines  of  the  Corliss  type  and  many  with  slide- 
valves,  were  thus  built.  The  marine  and  boat  engines,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  were  all  designed  in  this  way.* 

The  marine  engines  were,  in  addition  to  this,  with  one  excep- 
tion, on  the  compound  principle.  The  attention  that  this  sub- 
ject is  now  receiving  from  our  steam  engineers,  the  fiict  that 
it  is  in  use  on  all  the  principal  transatlantic  lines,  and  that  the 
United  States  navy  and  some  of  our  leading  lines  have  adopted 
it,  led  the  writer  to  look  into  the  subject  as  carefully  as 
circumstances  would  permit. 

The  steamer  by  which  passage  was  taken  across  the  Atlantic, 
was  one  of  a  line  whose  managers  are  commonly  considered 
among  the  most  conservative  and  slow  to  adopt  new  ideas  of 
any  in  Europe,  but  they  have  accepted  compound  engines,  and 
are,  as  fast  as  possible,  placing  them  in  all  their  steamers.  It 
was  said  to  be  the  declaration  of  the  chief  engineer  of  their 
line,  tha't  after  going  through  all  changes  and  improvements 
which  had  been  made  for  twenty  years  past,  their  books 
showed  but  little  variation  in  the  consumption  of  coal  until 
the  introduction  of  compound  engines,  when  the  saving  ap- 

*  Although  the  principle  is  well  understood  by  engineers,  the  writer  has  met  so 
many  persons  who  suppose  that  a  steam-jacket  was  merely  a  method  of  protecting  a 
cylinder  from  outside  radiation,  (better  done  by  felt  and  cleating  or  lagging) ,  that 
he  ventures  to  explain,  that  it  is  not  for  this  purpose  at  all,  but  to  correct  the  loss 
from  condensation  of  steam  within  the  cylinder,  which  condensation  is  a  consequence 
of  the  cooling  effect  of  a  rapid  rate  of  expansion  when  the  cut-off  valve  is  closed. 
The  expansion  of  a  volatile  liquid  by  means  of  an  air-pump  Avill  freeze  water ;  in  the 
same  way  the  expanding  steam  robs  part  of  itself  of  its  heat,  and  condenses  it  into 
water,  thus  diminishing  the  pressure  more  than  it  should,  and  at  the  end  of  the  stroke 
robbing  the  cylinder  of  heat  by  again  turning  the  water  condensed  on  its  surface  into 
steam,  which  flows  directly  into  the  exhaust  without  doing  any  woi'k,  leaving  the 
surface  of  the  cylinder  cool  to  be  warmed  by  the  fresh  steam  at  the  cost  of  fresh  con- 
densation. The  steam  in  the  jacket  supplies  the  heat  to  prevent  this,  at  a  less  loss 
than  if  thus  wasted  in  the  cylinder. 


416 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


pearecl  at  ouce  to  be  very  great.  The  following  will  give  an 
idea  of  the  form  of  indicator-card  which  was  made  and  the 
power  developed  in  actual  every-day  work,  during  the  passage 
spoken  of.  The  consumption  of  coal  was  reported  on  the  day 
in  question,  at  thirty-eight  tons  for  an  indicated  horse-power 
of  1,800,  besides  which  all  the  steam  used  in  the  vessel  for 
heating,  cooking,  running  pumps,  etc.,  is  to  be  allowed  for. 
The  boilers  in  the  vessel  with  this  engine  were  unquestionably 
much  too  small  for  the  most  economical  working,  having  a 
heating  surface  of  only  7,100  feet,  or  about  four  square  feet  per 
horse-power. 

The  builders  of  this  class  of  engines  claim  on  trial  trips 
much  greater  economy  than  was  here  shown,  as  low  in  fact  as 
one  and  one-half  pounds  of  coal  per  indicated  horse-power  per 
hour.  And  the  Messrs.  Eandolph  &  Elder,  the  great  pioneers 
of  this  system,  have  publicly  declared  their  expectation  of  get- 
ting the  economy  reduced  to  one  pound.*  The  character  of 
cards  taken  from  this  class  of  engines  is  illustrated  by  the  set 
of  cards  here  inserted. 

Indicator-cakds  of  a  Marine  Engine. 


High  Pressure  Cylinder. 
Scale,  48  to  inch. 


.  Atmospheric  line. 


Atmospheric  line. 


Low  Pressure  Cylinder. 
Scale,  20  to  inch. 


Cylinders,  51  inches  and  86  inches  in  diameter  — 4  feet  stroke.  RevolutionB,  54|  per  minute. 
Coal  used  in  twenty-four  hours,  38  tons.  Steam  in  boilers,  54  lbs. 

To  an  American  the  most  remarkable  among  these  engines 
were  those  designed  for  paddle-wheel  steamers  for  the  river 
and  the  lake  traffic  of  the  continent.     These  were  oscillatins: 


*  See  note  on  next  page. 


SPECIAL   REPORT    OF    MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.         417 

engines,  of  which  mention  has  already  been  made,  with  their 
cranks  at  right  angles,  the  steam  passing  from  the  high-pressure 
cylinder  into  an  intermediate  receiver.  To  illustrate  the  ex- 
tent to  which  this  form  of  engine  has  come  into  vogue  of  late 
years  for  a  class  of  steamers  quite  like  those  of  our  coasts  and 
rivers,  mention  may  be  made  of  constructions  of  Escher,  Wyss 
&Co.,  of  Zurich.     This  firm,  though  situated  far  from  any 


Note. — The  following  table,  prepared  at  the  instance  of  the  Engineering  Depart- 
ment of  the  Navy,  will  show  the  results  of  practical  experience  on  this  question  :— 

Table  exMhiting  for  comparison,  the  cost  of  the  power,  in  pounds  of  steam  per  horse- 
poicer.per  hour,  of  a  nmnber  of  compound  and  non-compound  tioo-cylinder  engines  ; 
the  quantities,  as  ascertained  by  indicator  7neasurement,  being  corrected  by  adding,  in 
the  case  of  the  non-compound  engines,  the  Jaioion  condensations  iti  the  cylinders,  yor 
their  several  measures  of  expansion  as  determined  by  the  experiments  of  the  Navy 
Department ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  cotniyoiind  engines,  the  quantity  condensed  in 
the  stea^n-jackets,  as  estimated  upon  the  basis  of  an  experiment  made  with  the  pump- 
ing-engine  of  the  Brooklyn  Water-  Works  in  1860. 


1    u 

cgS 

c  3 

Cost  of  the 

Power 

^1 

o  a* 

8«l 

8 '-' 

IN  Pounds  of  Steam 

§S 

-w 

PER     HORSE-POWEK 

PER  Hour. 

Ife^ 

DESCRIPTION  OF  ENGINE. 

<^  0.2 

■^.s   s 

V.       o 

o      o 

=  'as'r 

°«? 

•6 

p  3  o 

ounds 
dense 
jacke 
horse 

3 

'■B 

^ 

M  a  a> 

§  =  2 

Pi 

h 

Ph 

H             h5 

^ 

r-l. 

The60X36-in.  Navy  Engines,— 

Of  the  U.  S.  S.  Giierriere, 

23.67 

— 

4.99 

28.66 

35.70 

40.56 

- 

U.  S.  S.  Delaware, 

25.96 

- 

4.00 

29.96 

36.40 

41.03 

- 

U.  S.  S.  California,      . 

24.50 

- 

5.10 

29.60 

35.40 

41.00 

- 

U.  S.  S.  Congress, 

25.95 

- 

4.40 

30.35 

35.55 

40.85 

— 

The  50X42-in.  Navy  Engines,— 

Of  the  U.  S.  S.  Alaska,  . 

23.40 

- 

4.10 

27.70 

35.30 

41.40 

_ 

U.  S.  S.  Benecia, . 

23.50 

- 

4.30 

27.80 

35.20 

40.30 

- 

The36X36-in.  Navy  Engines,— 

Of  the  U.  S.  S.  Resaca,  . 

23.80 

- 

5.00 

28.80 

34.80 

43.00 

- 

U.  S.  S.  Swatara, 

23.00 

- 

4.20. 

27.20 

33.70 

38.60 

_ 

The  Compound  Engines, — 

Of  the  Steamer ,    . 

15.9 

2.18 

- 

18.08 

22.53 

27.16 

29.18 

Steamer  Italy, 

16.7 

2.18 

- 

18.88 

21.49 

26.10 

31.57 

Steamer  Spain,    . 

16.6 

2.16 

- 

18.76 

21.85 

26.54 

32.77 

Steamer  City  of  Bristol, 

16.2 

2.11 

- 

18.31 

21.01 

25.85 

28.07 

Steamer  Gracia,  . 

18.3 

2.32 

- 

20.62 

21.97 

26.31 

_ 

Steamer  Patagonian,   . 

15.9 

2.04 

- 

17.94 

21.16 

25.99 

29.42 

Steamer  Batavia, 

17.6 

2.27 

- 

19.87 

24.78 

30.09 

34.14 

Steamer  Egypt,    . 

17.7 

2.28 

- 

19.98 

24.89 

29.42 

32.00 

Mean  of  the  60 X36-in.  Engines,    . 

25.02 

_ 

4.62 

29.64 

35.76 

40.86 

_ 

50X42-in.  Engines,    . 

23.45 

- 

4.20 

27.75 

35.25 

40.85 

— 

36X36-in.  Engines,    . 

23.40 

- 

4.60 

28.00 

34.25 

40.80 

— 

Mean  of  the  Navy  Engines,   . 

23.95 

_ 

4.47 

28.46 

31.75 

40.83 

_ 

Compound  Engines,  . 

16.86 

2.19 

— 

19.05 

22.46 

27.18 

31.02 

*  Inclusive  of  the  quantity  condensed  in  the  production  of  the  power. 

t  Calculated  upon  the  basis  of  an  experiment  with  the  engine  of  the  Brooklyn  Wateri. 
Works. 

X  Due  to  all  causes  other  than  the  production  of  the  power. 

§  Developed  in  the  lower-pressure  cylinder,  inclusive  of.  the  quantity  condensed  in  the 
Bteam -Jackets. 

63 


418  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

navigable  water,  except  their  own  little  lake,  by  their  expe- 
rience, their  good  workmanship,  and  above  all,  by  the  reputa- 
tion which  their  engines  of  this  style  have  acquired  for  their 
economy,  have  contrived  to  gain  a  trade  which  extends  all  over 
Europe,  onto  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  and  to  the  Black  and 
Mediterranean  seas,  and  even  to  South  America.  From  1860 
to  May,  1873,  they  built  one  hundred  and  thirty  steamboat 
engines;  of  these  ninety-one  were  compounded. 

Of  the  stationary  engines  a  very  small  exhibition  was  made 
by  the  English,  and  although  compound  engines  are  largely  in 
use  with  them,  their  leading  manufacturers  did  not  generally 
appear.  Of  the  two  engines  built  especially  for  economy,  one 
by  Galloway,  was  on  the  compound  principle.  The  French 
had  only  two  stationary  engines,  of  which  one  was  compound- 
ed. A  portable,  whose  size  and  weight  would  entitle  it  to  rank 
among  the  stationaries,  was  also  compounded,  the  cylinders 
being  in  the  steam-dome. 

In  the  German  department  were  several  compound  engines. 

The  compound  upright  blowing-  engine,  exhibited  by  the 
Cockerill  works  of  Liege,  in  Belgium,  was  the  most  striking 
machine  in  the  Exposition ;  it  has  been  described  on  page  413 
of  this  report.  But  few  compounded  engines  were  shown  by 
the  Austrians  or  other  nations  of  eastern  Europe,  though  they 
were  not  without  examples. 

In  reviewing  this  whole  subject,  it  seems  probable  that  as 
the  economy  arising  from  the  introduction  of  steam-jacketed 
compound  engines  into  the  marine  of  this  country  is  perceived, 
and  as  our  large  manufacturers  investigate  the  advantages 
of  this  type  of  engines,  as  shown  in  Europe,  that  these  im- 
provements will  be  demanded  here  and  will  be  carefully 
studied  into  by  our  engine-builders,  and  that  economy  in 
steam  during  the  next  twenty  years,  will  be  sought  more  by 
these  modifications,  and  less  by  complicated  and  expensive- 
running  valve-gear. 

A  few  general  facts  may  be  noticed  in  regard  to  the  engines 
of  all  the  European  nations.  Wherever  their  governors  or 
their  valve-gear  were  driven  by  gears,  one  of  the  pair  was 
always  made  with  inserted  wooden  teeth.  Nearly  all  the 
engines  carried  their  piston-rods  completely  through  the 
cylinder,  so  that  the  heads  were  as  far  as  possible  supported 


SPECIAL   EEPORT    OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.  419 

on  the  rods.  The  valve-stems  were,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
arranged  in  the  same  way.  The  larger  portion  of  the  engines 
on  view  were  fitted  with  condensers,  and  a  favorite  position 
for  them  was  directly  behind  and  in  line  with  the  cylinder, 
the  prolongation  of  the  piston-rod  from  the  rear  of  the  latter 
serving  as  the  pump-rod.  Beyond  these  minor  points  there 
was  very  little  to  be  seen  that  would  be  particularly  interest- 
ino;  or  sugo-estive  to  an  American  builder. 

The  following  are  examples  of  the  prices  of  engines  of 
different  makers ;  price  in  United  States  currency,  at  ten 
•per  -cent,  below  gold  : — 


Diameter 

of  Cylinder. 

(inches.) 

stroke, 
(inches.) 

Price  in  U.  S. 

Currency. 

Small  English  engine,  well  finished.  J 

4 

6 

12 

8 
12 
24 

$186  00 
266  00 
760  00 

The  12-in.,  with  steam-jacket,         .  1 

Same,  semi-portable  boiler  included,  < 

4 
6 

8 
12 

399  00 

585  00 

German  build    (Berlin),   semi-port- T 
able, .\ 

6 

10 

827  00 

9 

13 

1,142  00 

A  French  (Paris)  semi-portable,        .  < 

6 
9 

10 
13 

770  00 
1,212  00 

A  variable   cut-off,  very  well  built,  f 

14 

32 

2,460  00 

with    steam-jackets.       Condenser  < 

18 

40 

3,130  00 

extra [ 

34 

60 

8,877  00 

Iron  Working  Tools. 

Of  tools  for  working  iron  there  was  a  large  display  in  the 
Machinery  hall.  As  we  have  already  stated,  the  American 
department,  although  very  limited  in  extent  and  in  the  num- 
ber of  exhibitors,  was  still  the  most  interesting  portion  of 
the  mechanical  exposition,  and  contained  more  that  was  orig- 
inal than  all  the  rest.  The  tools  of  Sellers,  of  Philadelphia; 
of  Messrs.  Pratt  &  Whitney,  of  Hartford,  Ct.  ;  Brown  & 
Sharpe,  of  Providence,  R.  I.  ;  and  Styles  &  Parker,  of  Meri- 
den,  Ct.,  were  universally  praised  for  their  workmanship  as 
well  as  their  originality.     Massachusetts,   though  undoubt- 


420 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


edly  the  largest  producer  of  machine-tools  of  any  State  in 
the  Union,  had  none  whatever  on  exhibition,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  case  of  twist-drills,  from  the  Morse  Twist-drill 
Co.  of  New  Bedford.  The  high  reputation  these  drills  have 
acquired  throughout  Europe  is  an  excellent  illustration  of 
the  character  of  our  best  grades  of  work.  It  is  well  known 
to  many,  that  the  manufacturers  of  these  drills  are  enabled 
to  import  the  highest  and  most  expensive  quality  of  steel, 
paying  upon  it  a  duty  of  fifty  per  cent,  and  all  expenses, 
turn  it  into  drills,  reexport  it  to  Europe,  and  sell  it  in  the 
foreign  markets  in  competition  with  any  manufacturers 
there ; — a  most  instructive  commentary  upon  our  labor- 
saving  machinery  !  It  is  the  more  to  be  regretted  that  our 
State  had  no  display  there,  as  many  of  our  tools  are  better 
suited  in  price,  as  well  as  in  character,  to  the  German  mar- 
ket, than  those  which  were  taken  there  from  other  States. 

We  quote  for  comparison  a  few  prices  of  machine-tools, 
accompanied,  as  far  as  they  could  be  ascertained,  with  the 
weights.  Prices  as  before  in  American  currency  at  ten  per 
cent,  below  gold  : — 

Machine-Tools,  Prices,  Weights,  etc. 
A  Prominekt  German  House. 


Lathes. 

Planers. 

a 

c 
CO 

■a 

.Q 

o 

"So   S 
*3 

.1 
1 

Price,  American 
Currency. 

a 

to   a 
g    P. 

-t-» 

'St 

121 
20 
24 
40 

12 
24 

- 

$354  00 
750  00 
946  00 

2,266  00 

30 
46 
90 

14 

28 

- 

$823  00 
1,863  00 
8,932  00 

Another  Leading  German  Maker 

13 

22 

13 

1,830 
3,570 
5,700 

$374  00 
546  00 
823  00 

25 
34 
52 

4 
11^ 

3,112 

9,384 

17,480 

$599  00 
1,007  00 
1,740  00 

SPECIAL   EEPOET  OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.  421 

Machine-Tools ,  etc. — Continued. 
English  House,  Considered  Rather  Rough  Work. 


Lathes. 

Planers. 

■3 

1 

'm' 

!>^  '-^ 

g 

o 

a 

a  & 

tS  =2 

£> 

c 

^ 

^ 

<   s 

"^ 

^-' 

^  "^ 

^ 

^  s 

^ 

02 

>3 

1 

■S5 

Oh 

^ 

g  P. 

^ 

£i 

12 

6 

1,344 

f272  00 

24 

4 

$522  00 

16 

10 

3,920 

474  00 

36 

8 

12,880 

1,022  00 

20 

12 

5,040 

638  00 

54 

12 

24,640 

1,852  00 

24 

14 

7,400 

894  00 

— 

~ 

~ 

~ 

Another  English  House,  of  High  Reputation  for  Workmanship. 


12 

6 

. 

$489  00 

_ 

_ 

16 

10 

- 

654  00 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

10 

- 

859  00 

- 

_ 

- 

- 

24 

16 

— 

1,062  00 

~ 

— 

— 

— 

A  Philadelphia  Firm — for  Comparison. 


16 

9 

2,000 

f450  00 

24 

5 

4,000 

$650  00 

20 

10 

3,600 

765  00 

36 

8 

7,000 

1,100  00 

_* 

_* 

3,700* 

875  00* 

— 

— 

— 

— 

A  Firm  in  New  York  State. 


16 

9 

2,050 

f375  00 

_ 

_ 

20 

10 

2,700 

625  00 

36 

12 

12,000 

$1,300  00 

24  • 

12 

6,000 

825  00 

- 

- 

- 

- 

30 

16t 

8,500 

1,350  00 

— 

~ 

— 

— 

*  Same  with  gap.  f  Hardened  1)0X68  and  'bearmgs  from  $70  to  $90  extra. 

Note. — With  the  exception  of  the  first  list,  all  foreign  lathes  above 
cited  are  made  with  a  gap. 

The  following  extract  from  the  "London  Engineering" 
will  be  interesting,  as  giving  a  foreign  estimate  of  our 
machinery : — 

"  It  will  be  seen  from  what  we  have  said,  that  the  American 
exhibits  of  machine-tools  are  of  special  interest,  and  that  they  are 
decidedly  characterized  by  great  originality  of  design.     In  this 


422  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

respect  they  are,  in  fact,  distinguislied  beyond  any  other  collection 
of  tools  at  Vienna.  *  *  *  The  workmanship,  too,  of  the  vari- 
ous machines  shown  is  excellent,  and  every  care  appears  to  have 
been  taken  to  insure  accuracy.  The  only  fault,  in  fact,  which  we 
have  to  find  with  the  American  machine-tools  is,  that  some  of  their 
frames  are  not  what  thej^  should  be.  "With  a  few  exceptions,  and 
notably  Messrs.  Sellers, — whose  frames  are  excellent, — our  Ameri- 
can friends  are  apt  to  run  a  little  wild  in  the  matter  of  frames,  and 
we  miss  in  their  designs  the  solidity  and  simplicity  which  distin- 
guish the  productions  of  our  leading  English  firms.  Hollow  or 
cored  frames  are  not  so  largely  used  in  the  United  States  as  they 
are  now  with  us ;  and  the  ribbed  frames  which  are  adopted, 
although  probably  amply  strong  enough  for  their  work,  are  apt  to 
be  distinguished  by  many  unnecessar}'-  curves  and  twists.  This 
is  especially  noticeable  with  the  legs  for  supporting  the  smaller 
machines." 

In  respect  to  the  weight  of  frames,  it  is  remarkable  that 
while  our  New  England  makers  uniformly  agree  in  declar- 
ing that  the  excessive  weight  of  English  tools  is  wholly 
unnecessary,  they  have  yet,  for  the  last  ten  years,  been 
constantly  adding  to  the  weight  of  their  machinery ;  and 
are  still  faj-  behind  the  manufacturers  of  Philadelphia  and 
Wilmington,  and  even  those  of  the  Western  States.  It  was 
the  declaration  of  two  distinct  manufacturers  of  the  Middle 
States  to  the  writer,  made  within  a  few  days,  that  New 
England  tools  had  a  very  unfavorable  reputation  in  their 
part  of  the  country.  This  reputation  arose,  no  doubt,  from 
the  fact  that  New  England  tools  are  too  light  for  the  heavy 
work  required  of  them  in  the  Middle  States.  Our  tools  are 
heavy  enough  for  much  of  the  work  in  New  England,  but 
should  some  firm,  of  good  reputation  for  workmanship,  add 
largely  to  the  weight  and  strength  of  their  tools,  they 
would  bring  back  to  Massachusetts  a  class  of  orders  now 
wholly  given  in  other  directions.* 

Passing  by  the  United  States  department  of  the  Machinery 
hall,  the  visitor  from  America  would  have  found  elsewhere 
very  little  that  was  new  or  instructive.  A  few  general  remarks 
are  suggested  by  a  review  of  the  productions  of  other  na- 
tionalities.    Lathes  are  very  generally  built  with  a  gap  under 

*  See  weights  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York  tools,  p.  421. 


SPECIAL   EEPORT    OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.        423 

the  face-plate,  so  that  a  larger  swing  can  be  had  when  the 
tool  is  desired  for  facing.  When  not  wanted  for  this  pur- 
pose, the  gap  is  filled  with  a  block,  which  slides  in,  having 
upon  it  a  continuation  of  the  ways.  Gears  are  not  cut, 
even  on  the  best  tools  of  the  makers  of  highest  reputation, 
on  the  theory  that  the  outers  scale  is  the  best  portion  to 
resist  wear.  The  working-handles  about  the  machines  are 
of  horn,  turning  loose  upon  their  centres.  Planers  are 
much  more  universally  built  wdth  double  heads  than  with 
us,  even  those  of  comparatively  small  size.  Those  in  the 
Exposition  were  also  universally  fitted  with  a  cord,  or  other 
arrangement,  for  mechanically  lifting  the  tool  so  as  to  clear 
its  point  in  running  the  platen  back.  Many  tools  for  slot- 
drilling  were  exhibited,  and  this  appears  to  be  a  tool  in 
much  more  general  use  than  with  us,  in  European  shops. 

Overhead  travelling-cranes  were  in  use  in  the  Exposition, 
and  the  whole  work  of  removing  the  exhibits,  to  and  from 
the  cars  which  brought  them,  was  done  with  these.  The 
writer  found,  also,  the  new  and  well-arranged  machine-shops, 
in  England  at  least,  generally  fitted  up  in  this  wa}^.  The 
cranes  were  largely  used  also  in  foundries  and  in  lumber- 
yards, and  universally  in  the  freight-yards  of  railways.  As 
is  generally  known,  these  travelling  cranes  consist  of  two 
parallel  rails  supported  overhead  on  walls  or  piers  from  forty 
to  sixty  feet  apart,  on  which  travels  a  truck.  This  truck  is 
composed  of  two  beams  with  wheels  under  the  ends  on  which 
another  truck  traverses  from  one  side  to  the  other.  This  last 
truck  carries  the  hoisting  apparatus.  Most  commonly  they 
were  driven  by  a  high  speed  hide-cord,  passing  through 
them  from  one  end  of  the  building  and  so  arranged  as  to 
give  all  the  motions  through  friction-gears  at  will. 

Yery  fine  examples  of  the  material  for  conveying  power  by 
wire- rope  were  also  on  exhibition,  with  plans  of  localities  where 
the  same  has  been  applied.  A  set  of  wheels  were  shown  of 
over  twenty  feet  diameter,  with  the  rope  used.  This  form  of 
conveying  power,  which  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  purposes 
of  water-power,  has  not  received  the  attention  in  New  England 
which  it  deserves.  It  is  largely  used  in  Europe,  and  from  50 
to  500  horse-power  is  conveyed  to  distances  of  nearly  a  mile. 
In  some  cases  smaller  powers  are  led  off  in  various  directions 


424  EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 

from  intermediate  stations  on  the  way.  It  is  estimated  that 
to  convey,  say  25  horse-power,  costs  by  wire-rope  eight  cents 
per  foot;  the  same,  by  belt,  $1.40  per  foot. 

Of  the  few  tools  which  deserve  attention  for  their  novelty,  one 
was  a  locomotive  double-wheel  lathe,  in  which  the  wheels  are 
supported  and  turned  on  their  own  axles.  On  the  head-stocks 
of  the  lathe  are  cast  brackets,  bearing  Y-shaped  adjustable 
boxes,  in  which  the  journals  of  the  axles  revolve.  Around  the 
rear  of  these  boxes,  on  a  portion  of  the  bracket  which  is  turned 
for  the  purpose,  revolve  the  face-plates,  driven  by  a  powerful 
gearing.  These  face-plates  are  made  in  two  parts,  in  order 
to  get  over  a  collar  on  the  bracket  which  holds  them  in  place, 
they  merely  serving  as  drivers  to  the  wheels.  A  pin  set  up 
against  each  end  of  the  axle  prevents  end  motion.  This 
lathe  was  exhibited  by  the  Saechsische  Maschinen-fabric  of 
Chemnitz  (formerly  Richard  Hartmann  &  Co).  The  same 
firm  displayed  a  drill  and  slotting-machine,  adapted  for  heavy 
work.  The  drill-spindle,  which  lies  horizontally,  has  an 
automatic  feed ;  the  carriage  which  holds  it,  slides  up  and 
down  upon  the  side  of  the  standard  which  supports  it,  and 
the  standard  itself  moves  horizontally  on  its  bed.  The  last 
two  motions  serve  for  drilling  slots,  either  horizontally  or 
vertically,  and  also  for  adjusting  the  tool  in  front  of  heavy 
work  for  drilling.  Several  tools  were  exhibited  by  Johann 
Wagner  &  Co.,  of  Dortmund,  for  railroad  work.  One  of 
these  was  a  very  heavy  milling  machine,  with  travelling-head, 
for  milling  the  ends  of  rails.  Another,  a  similar  machine, 
carrying  a  saw  for  sawing  off  the  ends  of  rails,  cold;  still 
another, — a  tool  with  three  horizontal  drills,  the  drills  having 
a  short  transverse  motion  and  self-feed,  for  drilling  oval  holes 
near  the  ends  of  rails.  By  expansion  gears,  the  distance  of 
the  holes  from  each  other  can  be  varied. 

The  same  firm  exhibited  some  tools  adapted  to  planing  the 
spokes  of  locomotive  wheels  and  to  drilling  the  rims  from 
the  inside.  Other  tools  were  shown  by  Sharp,  Stewart  & 
Co.,  and  others,  for  planing  the  inside  of  the  rim  and  like 
operations.  As  such  tools  would  not  be  applicable  to  our 
modes  of  work,  a  description  is  not  necessary. 

The  Deutsche  Werkzeugmaschinen-fabric  of  Chemnitz,  ex- 
hibited a  novel  machine  for  planing  on  an  arc  of  a  circle 


SPECIAL   REPORT   OF   MR.    HILL,    ON   MACHINERY.  425 

either  convex  or  concave,  adapted  to  crank  boxes,  etc. 
It  resembled  a  heavy  upright  drill.  The  spindle  was  very 
heavy,  and  carried  at  its  lower  end  a  slotted  arm,  in  which 
could  be  fixed  a  holder  with  cutting  tool,  with  such  radius  as 
the  work  demanded.  This  spindle  received  a  reciprocating 
turning  motion  by  means  of  a  proper  gear,  passing  through 
such  an  arc  of  a  circle  as  it  was  set  to,  and  there  reversing 
itself  and  turning  back,  with  a  quick,  return  motion.  It 
also  had  a  self-acting  down  feed.  In  this  way  the  tool  would 
plane  round  the  portion  of  a  circle  of  any  given  diameter  it 
was  set  to,  within  the  radius  of  the  arm.  The  horizontal 
table  for  the  work  was  adjustable  in  all  directions. 

A  common  machine  in  the  Exposition,  and  in  the  English 
work-shops,  was  a  frame  of  gang-drills  for  drilling  a  line  of 
holes  at  once.  These  were  generally  driven  by  a  long  screw, 
running  along  the  top  of  the  spindles  and  gearing,  into  a 
skew  gear  on  each  of  them. 

A  very  fine  bolt-heading  machine  was  exhibited  by  De 
Bergiie  &  Co.,  of  Manchester.  The  rods  being  cut  up  after 
heating,  by  knives  on  the  machine,  were  dropped  into  holes  in 
the  rim  of  a  heavy  revolving  wheel,  which  carried  them  suc^ 
cessively  under  the  punch  which  headed  them,  after  which 
they  were  dropped  out  below.  The  details  of  the  tool  were 
well  worked  out,  and  the  production  was  guaranteed  at  forty- 
five  bolts  per  minute. 

A  machine  for  planing  the  teeth  of  heavy  gears,  was  shown 
among  the  tools  of  the  Chemuitz  Werkzeugmaschinen-fabric. 
The  arrangements  for  adapting  it  to  the  size  and  form  of  gears 
were  good.  The  tool-holder  in  this  machine  oscillates  on  a 
centre,  and  the  form  of  the  tooth  to  be  cut  is  determined  by 
an  arm  which  follows  the  surface  of  a  copy  or  guide. 

This  short  list,  it  is  believed,  includes  nearly  all  the  tools 
in  the  Exposition  which  would  be  really  new  to  a  New  Eng- 
land visitor,  and  which  would  be  likely  to  be  of  any  value  to 
us.  It  is  not  impossible  that  there  are  tools  like  them  already 
in  use  among  us.  To  the  writer  they  were  most  of  them  new, 
and  have  been  thought  worth  a  brief  mention. 

54 


426  EXPOSITION   AT   YIENNA. 


Wood- Working  Machinery. 
If,  in  iron  working  tools,  Massachusetts  had  no  representa- 
tion at  the  Expositipn,  we  were  more  fortunate  in  wood- 
working machinery.  The  special  machines  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Baxter  D.  Whitney,  of  Winchendon,  for  pail-making,  jig- 
sawing,  planing,  for  turning,  etc.,  attracted  a  crowd  Whenever 
they  were  in  motion.  Quoting  again  from  English  testimony 
in  speaking  of  the  pail  machinery  : — 

"  Apart  from  the  ingenuity  displa^-ed  in  the  conception  of  this 
manifokl  machine,  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  carried  out 
reflects  the  highest  credit  upon  Mr.  Whitney.  Ever}'  one  of  his 
exhibits  indeed  shows  the  hand  and  mind  of  a  master,  and  every 
other  exhibitor  of  wood-working  machinery  can,  and  doubtless  will, 
learn  a  good  deal  from  these  tools." 

A  dove-tailing  machine,  shown  b}'  Mr.  G.  Hall,  of  Florence, 
was  also  much  admired,  and  a  band-saw  of  Richards,  London 
&  Kelley,  of  Philadelphia,  attracted  attention  from  its 
workmanship.  Beyond  these  there  were  only  exhibited  some 
collections  of  the  ordinary  wood-working  machinery  of  the 
United  States.    Of  these  it  was  declared  in  the  "  Engineerinoj"  ; 

"  Most  of  the  other  machines  exhibited  fall  so  far  below,  even  a 
liberal  standard  of  average  merit,  that  we  can  scarcely  believe  that 
they  are  to  be  accejited  as  the  representatives  of  this  branch  of 
industry  in  the  United  States." 

The  writer  has  quoted  this  statement  from  a  paper  certainly 
disposed  to  be  favorable  to  the  productions  of  our  country, 
and  it  is,  indeed,  the  conclusion  of  an  article  in  which  praise 
has  been  accorded  to  many  ingenious  details  in  the  machinery. 
The  remarks  apply  mostly  to  exhibits  from  other  States  than 
our  own,  but  are  quoted  from  a  feeling  that  the  lesson  may 
be  brought  home  to  ourselves.  It  is  pretty  certain  that  there 
has  not  with  us  been  that  improvement  in  weight  and  style, 
nor  in  workmanship,  within  these  latter  years,  in  wood-work- 
ing machinery,  that  there  has  in  iron.  Improvements  in 
design,  and  a  perfection  of  workmanship,  are  to  be  found  in 
work  made  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  which  wo 
cannot  equal. 


SPECIAL   EEPOET   OF   ME.    HILL,    ON   MACHHSTEET.  427 

It  is  a  question  how  far  tools  of  this  class  will  gain  in  pro- 
ductive power,  through  increased  weight  and  accuracy  of 
workmanship,  but  the  writer  cannot  doubt  that  there  is  a 
detoand  for  something  of  each,  much  beyond  the  average  of 
our  New  England  wood-working  machinery. 

Beyond  the  American  department  there  was  in  this  depart- 
ment little  of  interest,  except  in  the  English ;  and  those  ma- 
chines which  were  the  best  in  their  design  and  arrangement, 
are  by  a  firm  who  are  said  to  have  had  a  leading  American 
manufacturer  as  superintendent.  The  machinery  was  solid  and 
heavy,  and  contained  nothing  of  value  which  cannot  be  found  in 
a  better  form  in,  for  instance,  the  productions  of  Richards,  Lon- 
don &  Kelley,  of  Philadelphia.  A  few  special  machines  were 
shown,  adapted  to  the  continental  market,  for  making  par- 
quetry floors.  These  consisted  of  a  hand-matcher  with  a 
vertical  spindle,  the  work  carried  by  the  cutter  on  a  horizontal 
sliding  table,  and  of  a  surfacing  machine,  which  is  simply  a 
lathe  with  a  large  face-plate. 

Perin's  band-saws  attracted  attention  among  a  collection 
of  otherwise  inferior  wood-working  machinery  in  the  French 
department.  Some  of  these  were  very  heavy,  and  adapted 
with  side  rollers  for  re-sawing  lumber.  Beyond  the  French 
there  was  nothing  of  value  in  wood-working  machinery  in 
the  Exposition. 

In  reviewing  the  whole  subject  it  may  be  said,  of  the  matter 
of  steam-engineering,  that  the  questions  of  steam-jacketing 
and  compounding  should  receive  careful  attention  on  the  part 
of  our  engineers,  but  that  many  crude  and  unsuccessful  ex- 
jDeriments  have  been  made  in  the  United  States  which  have 
failed  from  imperfect  understanding  of  the  conditions  of  suc- 
cess, and  the  subject  should  be  approached  through  a  thorough 
study  of  the  work  and  the  publications  of  the  English  engi- 
neers. And  the  writer  does  not  doubt  that,  when  the  princi- 
ples at  the  bottom  of  the  system  are  here  well  understood, 
the  ingenuity  of  our  people  will  suggest  many  improvements 
over  present  forms. 

In  iron,  and  especially  in  wood-work  in  machinery,  although 
our  machines  are  most  admirable  for  ingenuity  and  conve- 
nience, there  is  need  of  a  more  thorough  study  of  the  work 
of  outside  manufacturers  on  the  part  of  our  makers.     Massa- 


428  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

chusetts  having  been  the  first  of  the  United  States  to  build  up 
a  manufacturing  business  in  these  departments,  she  is  too  much 
confined  to  her  original  forms  and  styles.  Perhaps,  too,  her 
manufacturers  are  too  closely  devoted  to  the  details  of  their 
business.  Time  devoted  to  travel,  and  an  investigation  of 
the  ideas  of  others,  is  not  lost.  Perhaps  it  is  one  of  the  best 
results  of  international  expositions  that  it  brings  manufactu- 
rers of  each  district  to  study  the  best  work  of  every  other. 

HAMILTON  A.  HILL. 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ELMER  P.    HOWE.  429 


AMERICAN  IDEAS  IN  EUEOPEAN  MACHINEEI.^ 


BY    ELMER    P.    HOWE. 


Group  XIII. — Machinery. 

The  first  impression  of  an  American,  entering  the  Machinery 
hall  at  the  Exposition,  was  one  of  disappointment.  Outside 
the  American  department,  there  was  a  conspicuous  lack  of 
novelty  in  the  exhibited  objects.  In  the  small  space  allotted 
to  the  United  States,  there  was  more  to  attract  the  thoughtful, 
or  the  casual  visitor,  than  in  all  the  long  hall  beyond.  The 
reason  for  this  is  not  hard  to  find.  For,  laying  aside  certain 
tools  which  are  adapted  for  the  use  of  some  particular  country, 
there  was  no  machinery  but  such  as  was  well  known  in  the 
United  States,  and  such  valuable  improvements  of  late  date 
as  appeared,  were  generally  of  American  invention,  or  have 
been  adopted  and  to  some  extent  developed  in  American 
practice. 

It  will  not,  I  trust,  savor  of  a  boastful  spirit  to  briefly 
examine  the  prominent  mechanical  exhibits  with  the  vieV  of 
discovering  to  what  extent  ideas  froiii'tMs  country  have  been 
employed.     In  this  attempt,  as  it  will  be  almost  impossible  to 

*  While  to  Europeans  the  American  department  of  the  Machinery  hall  was  by  far 
the  most  interesting,  from  the  great  number  of  novel  and  labor-saving  inventions  it 
contained,  the  rest  of  the  long  building,  was  equally  striking  to  the  American  visitor, 
from  the  lack  of  original  machinery.  The  peculiar  ability  of  the  American  mind  in 
the  matter  of  invention,  is,  for  the  first  time,  fully  realized,  in  passing  through  the 
foreign  departments.  Coupled  with  this  poverty  of  inventions  of  their  own,  the  visi- 
tor from  this  country  was  struck  with  the  frequency  with  which  he  came  across  well- 
knoAvn  Am  erican  ideas  and  machines  among  the  exhibits  of  the  different  European 
nations.  So  common  was  this  that  the  commission  thought  it  worth  while  to  sug- 
gest an  examination  of  the  Exhibition,  with  a  view  of  presenting  a  brief  catalogue  of 
American  inventions  which  have  within  a  few  years  been  adopted  in  Europe.  This 
has  been  done  partly  with  a  view  of  showing  how  grand  a  field  the  Old  World  would 
become  for  our  inventors,  could  some  reasonable  patent  protection  be  had  in  Europe. 
From  this  examination  the  following  article  arose. — Editor. 


430  EXPOSITION    AT   VIENNA. 

state  with  accuracy  the  locality  of  every  invention  discussed, 
it  will  be  assumed  that  the  credit  of  an  invention  is  due  to  the 
country  where  it  is  first  made  practical,  rather  than  to  the  one 
where  it  is  designed  and  patented. 

Thus,  the  band-saw,  one  of  the  most  useful  of  modern 
wood-working  tools,  was  patented  in  England  in  1808,  in 
essentially  its  present  form,  but  its  use  did  not  become 
general  until  it  was  introduced  by  the  French,  forty  years 
later.  The  band-saw  is,  therefore,  justly  credited  to  the 
French. 

Commencing  with  English  machinery,  among  the  steam- 
engines  there  was  to  be  seen  a  small  machine  with  a  Corliss 
bed  and  ordinary  slide-valves.  It  is  known,  however,  that 
the  Corliss  engine  is  regularly  built  in  England  by  at  least  two 
leading  firms,  and  has  become  an  accepted  type  in  their  steam 
engineering.  In  machine  tools.  Sharp,  Stewart  &  Co.,  the 
rivals  of  Whitworth,  exhibited  an  iron  planer  with  Sellers' 
worm-gear  and  belt-shifting  mechanism.  The  standard  wood- 
working tools  take  advantage  of  our  Daniels  and  Woodworth 
patents.  Among  the  special  machines,  the  Armstrong  dove- 
tailer  and  Richards  mortiser  were  prominent.  The  sewing 
and  knitting  machines  were  but  variations  of  those  made  by 
our  well-known  firms.  In  general  machinery  and  small  fit- 
tings, quite  a  list  of  American  inventions  were  noticeable; 
Pickering,  Huntoon  and  Porter  governors,  Ashcroft  safety- 
valves  and  gauges,  Berryman  feed  water  heater,  Blake 
stone-crusher.  Dudgeon  hydraulic  jacks  and  punches, 
diiferential  pulley  blocks,  Stephens'  vise,  Peet  valves,  Cam- 
eron special  pumps.  Cope  and  Maxwell  valveless  steam- 
pumps,  Dows  soda  water  apparatus,  twist  drills,  ratchet 
drills,  self-centering  chucks,  etc.  A  late  English  invention 
exhibited  was  a  complete  copy  of  the  idea  of  the  Merrill 
atmospheric  hammer,  except  that  the  cylinder  instead  of  the 
piston  was  the  moving  part. 

American  iron  working  machinery  has  been  copied  very 
little  in  France,  Belgium  and  Switzerland,  apparently  because 
they  have  not  yet  advanced  so  far  as  to  perceive  the  need  of 
our  new  ideas.  There  were  Swiss  imitations  of  twist  drills 
and  American  chucks,  but,  as  far  as  could  be  learned,  they 
have  not  yet  afiected  the  exportation  of  the  genuine  American 


EEPOET   OF   MR.    ELMER   P.    HOWE.  431 

productions.  lu  the  Swedish  department  were  two  lathes, 
ahiiost  exactly  reproduced  from  those  of  the  Putnam  Machine 
Co.,  Fitchburg.  The  imitation  extended  to  the  form  of  the 
name-plate  and  table  of  gears.  A  firm  from  Berlin  exhibited 
a  lathe  made  from  the  designs  of  Pratt,  Whitney  &  Co.,  Hart- 
ford, and  a  universal  milling  machine  after  Brown  &  Sharpe, 
Providence.  The  best  manufacturers,  it  is  fair  to  say,  con- 
demn this  undisguised  piracy.  A  German  company,  among 
many  imitations  of  English  tools,  had  a  Sellers  planer,  of  the 
same  design  as  the  one  spoken  of  in  the  English  department. 

The  large  establishment  of  Heilmann  Du  Commen,  in 
Alsace,  acknowledge  their  indebtedness  to  the  United  States 
in  many  points  of  detail.  The  products  of  this  firm  illustrate 
the  value  of  international  expositions.  Since  the  Paris  ex- 
position they  have  changed  the  design  of  many  of  their  best 
tools,  and  have  introduced  improvements  obtained  there. 
This  made  their  collection  one  of  the  most  valuable  in  the 
German  section.  They  are  really  French,  however,  as  they 
have  not  been  under  German  rule  long  enough  to  acquire 
the  language.  The  Shaw  &  Justice  spring-hammer,  Burleigh 
rock-drill  and  air-compressor,  Cameron  and  the  Earle  direct- 
acting  steam-pump,  were  shown  by  German  firms.  The 
Danks  furnace  was  shown  in  model  by  a  German  manu- 
facturing* firm. 

Among  the  best  steam-engine  builders,  the  Corliss  was  the 
favorite  model.  Although  there  were  but  eight  exhibited, 
six  were  in  operation.  Of  these,  three  were  almost  exact 
copies  from  Mr.  Corliss'  pattern ;  the  others  were  changed, 
whether  advantageously  or  not  is  not  to  be  decided  here. 
Two  were  from  Switzerland,  one  from  Belgium,  three  from 
Austria,  and  two  from  Germany.  Quite  a  number  of  other 
engines  were  fitted  with  automatic  variable  cut-ofi"  of  one 
kind  or  another ;  in  whatever  form  used,  undoubtedly  an 
American  invention.  There  were  several  others  with  Cor- 
liss beds.  Three  engines  (two  in  the  Austrian  department 
and  one  in  the  German)  were  fitted  with  the  Rider  expan- 
sion-valve. 

The  locomotives  and  railway  appliances  were  most  widely 
at  variance  with  our  practice.  One  Austrian  builder  had  a 
locomotive  with  four  large  drivers  and  a  four-wheeled  bogie. 


432  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

A  large  business  is  done  at  Buda-Pest,  Hungary,  in  chilled 
cast-iron  car-wheels.  The  trade  has  increased  from  IG  in 
1853,  to  over  26,000  in  1868.  They  are  most  used  on 
Saxon,  Austrian  and  Russian  roads.  Ordinary  American 
cars,  with  six-wheeled  trucks,  are  employed  in  Wtirtemburg 
and  on  a  few  Austrian  lines,  generally  for  second  and  third 
class  passengers.  A  system  for  warming  cars  by  circulation 
of  hot  water,  very  similar  to  that  in  use  here,  was  shown 
by  a  Geneva  builder. 

In  wood-working  machinery  English  models  have  been 
very  closely  adhered  to  on  the  continent.  In  the  Swedish 
department,  however,  there  were  two  poor  imitations  of  the 
moulding  machines  made  by  R.  Ball  &  Co.,  Worcester,  and 
a  planing  machine,  with  fixed  cutters,  on  a  plan  which  has 
been  condemned  here.  A  Hungarian  house  exhibited  a  con- 
tinuous rotary  planer  for  surfacing  short  boards.  The  design 
is  American  and  worthless. 

The  application  of  machinery  to  the  manufacture  of  boots 
and  shoes  is  peculiar  to  our  country ;  consequently  the  exhib- 
its in  this  industry  were  but  inferior  copies  of  well-known 
machines.  An  exception  might  be  made  in  favor  of  Lemer- 
cier,  in  the  French  department,  who  displayed  an  original 
machine  for  fastening  on  soles  and  heels  by  brass  screws, 
and  a  lasting  machine  which  was  rather  a  hindrance  than  a 
help. 

Sewing  machines  were  exhibited  by  a  great  number  of 
continental  firms,  as  well  as  English,  and  their  manufacture 
has  become  a  standard  business.  It  is,  however,  flattering 
testimony  to  the  skill  of  our  mechanics,  that  the  American- 
made  machines  are  sold  in  very  large  numbers  in  the  Euro- 
pean markets,  at  much  higher  prices  than  those  of  domestic 
make. 

American  breech-loading  guns  were  shown  in  great  num- 
bers (the  manufacture  of  European  government  shops),  but 
it  is  needless  to  say  not  so  well  made,  and  apparently  not 
so  cheaply  as  our  work. 

Another  prominent  manufacture,  founded  on  American 
invention,  was  that  of  Rubber  in  its  various  forms. 

Of  Agricultural  implements,  some  are  made  according  to 
the   traditions  of  the   country ;  some   are   copied  from   the 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    ELMER   P.    HOWE.  433 

Englisli.  The  mowers,  rakes,  harvesters  and  lawn-mowerSj 
are  American. 

Such  are  some  of  the  American  ideas  which  would  attract 
the  attention  of  the  ordinary  visitor  in  passing  down  the 
Machinery  Hall  of  the  Exposition.  Doubtless  the  specialist 
in  almost  any  department  would  find  others,  but  these, 
numerous  and  prominent  in  themselves,  are  the  more  strik- 
ing, because  they  do  not  apj)ear  to  be  matched  by  corres- 
ponding invention  on  the  part  of  the  various  nations  which 
have  adopted  them. 

Undoubtedly  our  superiority  is  due  to  two  causes  :  our 
higher  grade  of  education  and  our  patent  system.  In  edu- 
cation they  are  rapidly  improving.  In  special  technical 
education  they  are  to-day  our  superiors  ;  and  they  can  adopt 
our  patent  system. 

ELMER  P.   HOWE. 


55 


434  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 


EAILWAY  TELEGRAPHS  AND  ELECTRIC  SIGNALS.* 


BY    ROBERT    B.    LINES, 


Group 


The  practical  value  of  the  electric  telegraph  is  nowhere 
more  apparent  than  in  its  application  to  the  running  and  con- 
trol of  railways. 

One  of  the  principal  claims  made  by  Prof.  Morse  for  the 
invention  which  he  at  least  had  the  merit  of  first  brino^ins:  into 
practical  commercial  operation,  was  the  facility  which  it 
would  offer  to  railways  for  the  speedy  and  safe  transaction 
of  their  business.  While  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  railways 
of  either  Europe  or  America  have  yet  received  the  full  benefit 
of  this  important  and  now,  indeed,  indispensable  auxiliary  to 
their  management,  it  is  certain  that  much  has  been  done  by 
the  aid  of  the  telegraph  which  could  not  have  been  done 
without  it,  and  much  of  the  progress  made  by  railways 
within  the  past  thirty  years  is  due  to  its  powerful  assistance. 
While  it  has  rendered  possible  that  direct  control  over  hun- 
dreds of  miles  of  track,  which  is  such  a  striking  feature  in  our 
railway  management,  its  detailed  application  has  also  shown 
it  to  be  the  most  valuable,  if  not  the  only,  means  of  maintain- 
ing safety  in  the  midst  of  the  immense  traffic  in  freight  and 
passengers  which  its  use  has  aided  in  building  up. 

In  America  the  railways  have  been  and  are  still,  to  a  great 
extent,  too  much  dependent  for  their  telegraphic  facilities  on 
contracts  with  telegraph  companies,  frequently  disadvanta- 
geous to  the  former  from  the  commencement,  and  always,  as 

*  The  attempt  which  has  been  made  in  this  article  to  reduce  the  large  drawings 
with  which  it  was  accompanied,  by  the  aid  of  the  Heliotj'-pe  process,  has  not  suc- 
ceeded as  well  as  was  expected,  owing  to  the  excessive  reduction  necessary  to  bring 
the  illustrations  within  the  size  of  the  page ;  the  lettering,  particularly,  is  imperfect. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  interested  reader  will  find  no  difficulty  in  under- 
standing the  plates  by  aid  of  the  context. — Editor. 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  435 

traffic  increases,  iuvolving  great  difficulties  in  their  practical 
working.  In  many  cases,  railways  have  been  required  not 
only  to  yield  the  right  of  way,  but  also  to  furnish  and  dis- 
tribute the  poles  for,  and  otherwise  to  aid  the  erection  of 
lines,  the  property  in  which  vests  in  a  telegraph  company. 
The  line  once  established,  the  railway  is  to  transport  men 
and  material  for  its  maintenance  or  extension  and  to  share 
the  expense  of  its  operation.  In  return  for  these  services  it 
receives  a  partial  use  of  the  wire  for  its  own  business,  the 
telegraph  company  receiving  the  profits  from  all  other  des- 
patches. 

This  use  of  a  railway  wire  for  commercial  business,  still 
common  in  some  sections,  gives  rise  to  constant  disputes 
between  the  employes  of  the  two  companies,  and  not  infre- 
quently is  productive  of  great  delay  and  danger  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  railways.  On  most  important  lines,  however,  the 
railways  of  America  have  followed  the  example  of  those  in 
Europe,  and  secured  for  themselves  the  exclusive  use,  if  not 
the  ownership,  of  one  or  more  wires  along  their  routes, 
operating  them  independently.  Such  cases  alone  come  prop- 
erly within  the  scope  of  this  report,  as  where  the  control  of  a 
wire  belongs  to,  or  is  even  divided  with  a  company  operating 
it  for  commercial  purposes,  railway  telegraphy  can  hardly  be 
said  to  exist. 

The  telegraphic  service  of  railways  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes,  general  and  special.  Although  this  paper  relates 
almost  exclusively  to  the  latter  class,  a  few  words  with  regard 
to  the  former  may  not  be  out  of  places 

The  first  class  includes  all  messages  on  the  ordinary  busi- 
ness of  the  road,  such  as  orders  to  station-masters,  directions 
in  regard  to  cars,  to  the  distribution  and  working  of  forces, 
etc.  Under  this  head  may  also  be  classified  the  regular 
reports  to  the  central  office  and  the  whole  system  of  "  train 
despatching,"  or  "  running  by  telegraph,"  which  has  become 
so  common,  and  been  brought  to  such  apparent  perfection  in 
the  United  States,  but  which,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn, 
does  not  exist  abroad. 

In  Europe  there  are  generally  several  wires  set  apart  for 
the  exclusive  use  of  railways,  both  for  the  general  and  the 
special  services.     In  France,  one  wire  connects  the  principal, 


436  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

another  the  secondary,  and  a  third,  or  "omnibus"  wire,  all 
of  the  stations.  For  the  ordinary  service,  at  least  on  this 
latter  wire,  the  "  cadron "  or  alphabetical  dial  system  is 
principally  used,  and  as  its  operation  is  simple  and  quickly 
learned,  the  station-masters  or  other  employes  are  fully  cap- 
able of  managing  it.  In  America,  on  the  contrary,  the 
instrument  used,  is  almost  invariably  the  Morse  sounder  or  em- 
bossing recorder,  which,  although  more  rapid,  and,  possibly, 
in  the  hands  of  skilled  operators,  familiar  with  its  code,  more 
satisfactory,  requires,  to  be  properly  served,  a  much  longer 
training  and  higher  capacity.  The  record  of  the  embossing 
Morse  instrument  is  also  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  ink- 
writer,  so  generally  used  in  Europe,  and  the  American  code 
is  much  more  liable  to  error  than  the  European. 

With  us  the  railway  office  is,  to  a  great  extent,  the  school 
ot  the  Morse  operator,  who  leaves  it  as  soon  as  he  becomes 
proficient,  to  seek  a  higher  salary  with  a  telegraph  company, 
and  to  divest  himself  of  the  opprobrium  attaching  among  the 
fraternity  to  a  railway  "  plug." 

With  the  American  Morse  instrument  and  code,  conse- 
quently, the  ordinary  telegraphic  service  on  railways  is  either 
conducted  at  a  large  cost  to  the  companies,  or  is  left  to  the 
hands  of  unskilled  employes,  to  the  prejudice  of  safety. 
There  may  be  circumstances  in  the  condition  and  traffic  of 
our  railways  which  render  it  necessary  that  a  minute  knowl- 
edge of  and  control  over  the  movements  of  trains  should 
always  exist  in  the  central  office :  in  other  words,  that  the 
system  of  "train  despatching"  should  continue.  If  this  be 
the  case,  supposing,  which  is  probably  true,  that  the  Morse 
is  the  instrument  best  adapted  for  such  service,  the  railways 
should  secure,  at  any  cost,  the  best  telegraphic  talent.  I  am 
convinced,  however,  that  when  such  exceptional  circum- 
stances disappear,  as  they  will  with  the  improvement  of 
tracks  and  the  more  regular  growth  of  business,  it  will  be 
found  to  the  interest  both  of  economy  and  safety  to  adopt  a 
simpler  instrument  for  the  general  service,  and  to  rely  on 
special  signals  for  the  prevention  of  accident. 

While  the  general  use  of  the  telegraph  is  to  railways  a 
convenience  greatly  augmenting  their  capacity  for  business, 
the  employment  of  special  signals,  electric  or  otherwise,  is  a 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  437 

matter  of  necessity  to  the  public,  whose  safety  is  at  stake. 
As  very  few  accidents  are  due  to  natural  or  inevitable  causes, 
it  follows  that  there  must  be  somewhere  responsibility  for 
them,  and  it  may  be  said  that  the  surest  method  of  preventing- 
them  would  be  to  concentrate  this  responsibility  upon  some 
one  person  against  whom  penalties  may  be  directed.  To  a 
limited  extent  this  theory  may  be  correct.  "Were  the  reme- 
dies of  the  law  always  obtainable,  however,  and  always 
rigidly  enforced,  they  could  aiford  no  adequate  compensation 
for  the  terrible  consequences  of  railway  accidents.  The 
policy  of  prevention  must,  therefore,  be  almost  entirely  dis- 
sociated from  any  idea  of  remedy. 

In  some  European  railways  there  are  employed  immense 
numbers  of  flagmen,  at  short  distances,  to  protect  the  trains. 
Even  if  this  were  the  best  system,  it  would  be  obviously  im- 
possible to  guard  every  step  of  a  railway  in  America  by 
human  agency.  Machinery  of  some  sort  must,  therefore,  be 
trusted  to  ;  and  thus  far  electricity  seems  to  offer  almost  the 
only  practicable  solution  of  the  question. 

The  "special"  telegraphic  service,  or  railway  signal  sys- 
tem, as  it  exists  in  Europe  (or  rather  on  the  continent),  is 
very  fully  represented  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition,  bnt  the 
apparatus  exhibited  by  the  different  countries  is  variously 
classified.  In  some  cases  it  is  placed  in  Group  XIII.,  with 
"  Machinery  and  Means  of  Transport,"  in  others,  in  Group 
XIV.,  with  " Philosophical  Instruments,"  or  Group  XVIII., 
"Civil  Engineering  and  Architecture,"  and  still  again  in 
"Additional  Exhibitions,"  such  as  those  of  the  Austrian 
railways.  Aside  from  this,  the  exhibits  of  different  countries 
in  the  same  group  are  so  for  apart  that  it  has  been  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  make  a  comparative  examination.  In  many 
cases,  also,  there  are  no  pamphlets  or  explanations  accom- 
panying the  apparatus,  and  no  one  in  charge  to  work  or  give 
information  in  regard  to  it.  I  have  endeavored,  however,  to 
investigate  as  thoroughly  as  possible  not  only  the  systems 
represented  here,  but  others  which  are  not  exhibited,  and 
trust  the  result  may  not  be  without  value. 

In  a  recent  French  report  upon  this  subject  (^Resume  des 
conferences    sur   la    telegrajphie    electrique,   par  M.   Amiot, 


438  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Inspecteur,    etc.),    railway   signals   were    divided    into   four 
classes,  as  follows:  — 

1.  For  the  "covering"  of  trains  (i.  e.,  to  indicate  by 
optical  signals  that  a  train  has  passed  a  signal-station  and 
that  another  must  not  follow) . 

2.  To  signal  the  movement  of  trains  (electrically). 

3.  To  signal  from  trains  in  case  of  accident. 

4.  To  communicate  between  the  various  portions  of  a  train. 

Having  in  view,  how^ever,  the  prime  object  of  the  signal- 
service,  a  more  logical  division  of  the  subject  would  seem  to 
be  one  based  on  the  actual  course  of  trains  from  station  to 
station  and  the  character  of  accidents  to  which  they  are  liable. 

Aside  from  those  arising  from  the  imperfect  condition  of 
the  track  or  rolling  stock  of  a  railway,  which  can  only  be 
avoided  by  frequent  inspection,  the  dangers  to  ^vhich  trains 
are  subject  are  principally  occasioned  by  — 

1.  The  displacement  of  switches  or  semaphores  at  stations. 

2.  Vehicles,  etc.,  upon  the  track  at  common  road-crossings. 

3.  Collision  of  trains  in  motion,  following  or  meeting  each 
other,  on  the  same  track  or  at  junctions. 

4.  Causes  within  the  train  itself. 

The  signals  themselves  cannot  be  so  readily  classified  as 
the  dangers  which  they  are  intended  to  avert,  inasmuch  as 
some  of  the  apparatus  may  be  used  with  equal  facility  to 
attain  several  of  the  objects  desired.  For  the  purposes  of 
this  report,  however,  it  will  be  sufficient  if  I  explain  their 
actual  uses,  merely  suggesting  others  to  which  they  may  be 
applied. 

From  this  stand-point  (i.  e.,  of  the  purposes  they  are  de- 
signed to  serve,)  railway  signals  may  be  considered  in  six 
groups,  viz.  :  — 

1.  Signals  of  the  movement  of  trains. 

2.  Signals  giving  knowledge  of  or  control  over  the  position 
of  switches  or  semaphores  not  visible  to  the  person  requiring 
such  knowledge  or  control. 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ROBERT    B.    LINES.  439 

3.  Sisrnals  of  warnino:  at  arrade-crossinss  of  common  roads. 

4.  Signals  "  covering "  the  position  of  trains  in  motion 
from  trains  following,  meeting  or  crossing. 

5.  Signals  between  the  various  portions  of  a  train. 

6.  Signals  to  be  used  in  case  of  accident. 

Through  the  first  four  of  these  classes  runs  a  general,  or 
rather  a  special  subdivision,  and  one  of  great  importance,  if 
not  to  the  present,  at  least  to  future  systems  of  railway  sig- 
nalling. Until  recently,  signals  between  stations  and  trains 
in  motion  have  been  on  the  one  hand  purely  optical,  as  the 
display  of  flags,  lights  or  semaphores  from  stations,  and  on 
the  other  optical  or  aural,  as  the  display  of  flags  and  lights 
and  the  blowing  of  whistles  on  trains.  Since,  however,  it 
has  been  found  practicable  to  communicate-  electrically  be- 
tween stations  and  rapidly  moving  trains,  the  possibilities  of 
railway  signalling  have  been  greatly  extended. 

I.     Signals  of  the  Movement  of  Trains. 

I  have  not  thought  it  important  to  consider  at  much  length 
the  various  devices  employed  to  indicate  from  point  to  point 
the  forward  movement  of  trains.  When  there  are  special 
functions  to  be  performed  (and  it  is  to  such  points  only  that  I 
desire  to  apply  the  general  term  "station"),  the  stations  are 
usually  connected  by  the  ordinary  telegraph,  and  announce- 
ments of  the  arrival  and  departure  of  trains  may,  of  course, 
be  made  in  the  ordinary  manner  by  message. 

In  a  purely  "signal"  service,  however,  each  "station" 
and  intermediate  "  signal-box  "  is  on  an  equality  with  every 
other,  and  a  method  of  communication  is  necessary  which  can 
be  employed  and  interpreted  by  signal-men  as  well  as  by 
skilled  telegraph  clerks.  This  may  be  easily  attained  by 
making  each  such  point  the  terminus  of  an  electric  "  circuit," 
in  which  is  inserted  a  "  bell-sounder."  This  is  an  ordinary 
electro-magnet,  the  armature  of  which  is  extended  upwards 
and  furnished  with  a  hammer,  which  strikes  upon  a  bell  when 
the  circuit  is  closed.  As  this  apparatus,  though  simple, 
forms  an  important  part  of  many  of  the  signals  in  use  for 
other  purposes,  a  brief  diagram  and  description  of  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  here. 


440 


EXPOSITION"   AT   VIENNA. 


To  illustrate  the  arrangement  of  signal  stations  between 
which  the  movement  of  trains  only  is  desired  to  be  shown, — 


Plate  I. 


Let  A,  B  and  C  (Plate  I.)  be  three  adjacent  signal-sta- 
tions, or  boxes.  A  and  C  are,  of  course,  fitted  up  exactly  as 
B ;  but  it  being  only  necessary  to  describe  one  set  of  appa- 
ratus, those  at  A  and  C  are  omitted  from  the  drawing.  M  M 
are  magnets  placed  upon  the  lines  L  L,  which,  after  passing 
through  the  coils  of  the  magnets  at  A,  B  and  C,  are  con- 
nected to  the  ground  G,  through  the  commutators,  or 
switches,  c  c  c  c.  In  their  normal  condition,  therefore, 
there  is  no  electric  current  passing  on  the  lines  on  either 
side  of  B.  This  is  the  ordinary  arrangement  of  what  is 
called  an  "  open  circuit."  * 

Suppose  now  that  a  train  passes  A,  whose  approach  he 
wishes  to  signal  to  B.  By  turning  the  switch  c  to  the  left, 
the  current  from  the  galvanic  battery  g  is  thrown  on  the 
line  through  the  point  j)  and  the  switch.  The  magnet  M, 
being;  influenced  bv  the  current,  attracts  the  armature  a,  and 
the  hammer  h  at  the  upper  extremity  of  the  armature  strikes 
against  the  bell  b.  The  stroke,  of  course,  continues  as  long, 
and  is  renewed  as  often,  as  the  switch  is  thrown  upon  the 
point  jp.  The  instrument  is  enclosed  in  a  box,  as  shown  in 
the  figure,  and  placed  against  the  wall  of  the  station,  or  at 
any  other  convenient  spot,  the  bell  and  armature  being  pro- 
tected from  exposure  by  means  of  a  zinc  cap  z. 

*  Objection  has  1)6611  made  to  the  use  of  the  open  circuit  -with  one  wire  for 
signals,  on  account  of  the  momentary  signals  which  might  be  produced  by  atmos- 
pheric electricity  seeking  its  way  through  the  Avire  to  the  ground,  or  by  what  are 
known  as  "  earth  cuiTents."  But  as  the  object  of  the  above  description  is  simply  to 
illustrate  the  action  of  the  "  bell-sounder  "  under  the  influence  of  any  electric  cur- 
rent, these  objections  need  not  here  be  considered. 


EEPOET   OF   MR.    ROBEET   B.    LINES.  441 

It  only  remains  to  devise  a  simple  code  of  signals  by 
strokes,  in  order  to  convey  to  the  man  in  charge  at  B  the 
necessary  intelligence  from  A  or  C,  and  vice  versa.  The 
difference  in  tone  of  the  bells  indicates  to  the  signal-man 
from  which  side  the  train  is  approaching.  The  number  of 
strokes,  and  their  combination,  may  inform  him  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  train,  whether  freight  or  passenger,  and  of  the 
company  to  which  it  belongs,  in  case  the  track  is  occupied 
by  two  or  more  companies.  The  agent  is  thus  given  from  a 
distance  all  the  information  which  is  usually  conveyed  from 
the  train  itself  on  its  near  approach,  by  means  of  different 
colored  flags,  lights,  etc.  He  has,  therefore,  ample  time  to 
make  all  necessary  preparations,  and  on  the  passage  of  the 
train,  signals  its  coming  in  like  manner  to  his  neighbor. 

A  system  like  this  requires,  as  will  be  seen,  the  closest 
attention  on  the  part  of  the  signal-man ;  and  it  is  usual  to 
include  in  the  code  a  sign  of  acknowledgment,  without 
receiving  which  the  signal  is  not  regarded  as  complete  by 
the  sender.  The  direct  action  of  the  magnet  upon  the  bell- 
hammer,  wdiich  constitutes  the  simplicity  of  the  above  appa- 
ratus, practically  limits  the  size  of  the  bell  employed  to  that 
of  an  ordinary  office  or  dining-room  call-bell.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  sound  a  larger  bell  to  attract  the  attention  of 
a  distant  attendant,  machinery  must  be  introduced,  in  which 
electricity  operates,  not  as  the  direct  motive-power,  but  as 
an  agent  to  release  a  mechanical  force  strong  enough  to  pro- 
duce the  desired  result.  One  of  the  best  and  most  generally 
employed  systems  of  this  class  is  that  of  Leopolder,  which 
is  in  use  on  the  Nordbahn  and  other  Austrian  railways,  and 
on  the  Northern  Railway  of  Italy  from  Turin  to  Venice. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Leopolder,  and  to  the  Allgemeine 
Telegraphenbau  Gesellschaft  of  Vienna,  of  which  company 
he  is  a  member,  for  a  drawing  of  his  apparatus. 

The  system  is  operated  by  opening  instead  of  closing  the 
circuit.  When  the  apparatus  is  in  its  normal  position  the 
circuit  is  closed.  The  wires  of  the  magnet  are  connected, 
one  to  the  neighboring  signal-station  and  battery,  and  the 
other  to  the  ground.  When  the  circuit  is  thrown  open  the 
current  ceases  to  act  on  the  magnet,  and  the  armature,  being 

56 


442 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


no  longer  attracted,  is  drawn  up  by  the  tension  of  a  spring 
attached  to  its  lower  arm. 

Fixed  to  the  armature,  on  its  upper  side,  are  two  arms 
which  sustain  a  lever.  On  the  rising  of  the  armature  and 
lever  the  latter  releases  a  wheel  which  it  alloAvs  to  make  one 
revolution,  upon  which  it  falls  into  its  normal  position. 
This  wheel  gears  into  a  larger  notched  wheel,  turned  by  a 
weight,  the  gears  in  such  relation  that  the  larger  wheel 
advances  one  notch  to  each  revolution  of  the  smaller.  These 
notches  lift  an  arm  having  a  hammer  at  its  extremity,  which 
strikes  upon  a  large  bell.  It  also  operates  another  arm  pro- 
vided with  a  punch,  which  perforates  a  sheet  of  paper  pass- 
ing between  rollers.  The  number  of  signals  given  upon  the 
bell  is  thus  accurately  registered  on  the  paper. 

The  registering  part  of  the  apparatus  is  called  the  "  con- 
trol," which  term,  however,  is  used  in  Europe  indiffer- 
ently, to  designate  a  register  of  signals  at  the  receiving 
station,  or  an  automatic  acknowledgment  returned  to  the 
sending  station.  It  is  also  applied,  at  least  by  the  French, 
to  the  motive-power,  or  "controlling"  force. 

The  system  Leopolder,  with  the  "  control  "  attachment,  is 
exhibited  in  the  separate  "  Nordbahn  Ausstellung,"  or  col- 
lection of  the  Northern  Railway  of  Austria.  It  having  been 
introduced  into  Italy  before  the  adoption  of  the  "control," 
the  latter  was  added,  in  substantially  the  same  manner,  by 
Sig.  Moutelli,  one  of  the  engineers  of  the  Alta  Italia  Railway. 
In  addition  to  this,  however,  a  further  modification  was  in- 
troduced by  Sig.  Moutelli,  and  the  apparatus,  thus  modified, 
is  on  exhibition  in  Group  XIV.  of  the  Italian  department. 


When  the  bell-lever  I 
(Plate  II.,  A)  falls  to 
deliver  the  stroke,  it  car- 
ries with  it  a  catch  ^, 
which  strikes  against  a 
tooth  of  the  ratchet-wheel 
c,  and  carries  it  forward 
one  tooth.     The  wheel  is 

prevented  from  turning  farther  by  a  spring  a,  held  against  it 

fby  the  tension  of  the  spiral  m. 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES. 


443 


The  wheel  c  turns  on  the   same  axis   as  a  cog-wheel   d 
(B),  the  cogs  of  which,  twelve  in   number,   fit   into  those 

of  a  sliding  bar/!,  d  turns 
the  large  disc  e,  which 
is  divided  into  twelve 
compartments  or  spaces, 
on  eleven  of  which  are 
printed  the  eleven  code 
or  dot-signals  used  on  the 
Alta  Italia  Railway,  with 
their  meaning  in  plain 
Roman  characters.  The 
twelfth  space  is  left  blank. 
For  every  stroke  on  the  bell,  therefore,  the  disc  is  turned 
one  space  to  the  right,  and  the  signal  exposed  at  the  top 
agrees  with  the  number  of  the  strokes.  The  attendant,  hear- 
ing the  sound  of  the  bell,  perhaps  from  a  distance,  comes  to 
the  signal-box,  and  having  satisfied  himself  as  to  the  signal, 
pulls  a  cord  which  releases  the  spring  a  (Plate  A) ,  and  the 
disc,  impelled  by  the  weight  h  (B),  falls  to  the  position 
shown  in  the  cut,  with  the  blank  space  exposed  at  the  top. 
The  ■  apparatus  is  simple,  inexpensive,  and  little  liable  to 
error. 

Messrs.  Siemens  &  Halske,  the  widely-known  electricians 
and  instrument-makers  of  Berlin,  have  also,  in  their  admirable 
collection,  a  similar  apparatus  to  that  of  Leopolder,  in  which 
the  control  consists  of  an  ink- writing  Morse  register.  The 
apparatus  is  enclosed  in  a  circular  iron  box  surrounding  the 
bell-support,  and  is  so  arranged,  that  on  shutting  the  door  of 
the  box,  the  circuit  is  closed  automatically  should  the  person 
sending  the  signal  have  forgotten  to  close  it. 

The  use  of  the  foregoing  apparatus  presupposes  the  exist- 
ence of  a  code,  and  this  admits  of  its  being  employed,  not 
only  to  signal  the  movement  of  trains,  but  also  to  give  dis- 
tress signals,  which  I  have  classed  by  themselves  as  Group 
yi.,  and,  in  a  limited  way,  to  answer  the  purpose  of  signals 
classed  under  Group  II.,  or  even,  with  a  more  extended  code, 
of  a  speaking  telegraph.  There  are  two  sets  of  apparatus, 
however,  employed  to  signal  the  movement  of  trains,  on 
which  no  code  can  be  used. 


444  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

The  first  of  these  belongs  to  that  class  of  which  I  have 
spoken,  as  having  such  an  important  bearing  on  the  future  of 
railway  signalling;  i.  e.,  electrical  signals  between  stations 
and  trains  in  motion.  Although  rude  in  its  construction,  and 
destined,  doubtless,  to  be  superseded  by  better  methods,  it 
illustrates  the  principle,  on  which,  it  seems  to  me,  signalling 
in  America  must  be  carried  out,  if  at  all.  Where  labor  is  so 
scarce,  and  the  demand  for  reduced  rates  of  transportation  so 
urgent  as  in  the  United  States,  we  cannot  expect  railway 
companies  to  protect  their  tracks,  by  placing  at  short  intervals, 
agents  and  signal-houses  such  as  line  the  roads  of  Europe. 
Moreover,  if  the  use  of  machinery  is  safe  and  expedient,  the 
safest  and  best  is  that  which,  under  proper  guards,  leaves  as 
little  to  human  agency  as  possible.  I  will  not,  however, 
enlarge  upon  this  point  at  this  stage  of  my  report. 

The  apparatus  alluded  to  is  that  employed  by  the  Gom- 
pagnie  du  Nord,  near  Mauberge,  in  France.    It  consists  sini- 

Plate  hi.  P^^  ^^  ^  ^^^"^y  ^P""g  ^^  ^^^^^ 

a,  Plate  III.,  securely  fast- 
ened to  the  side  of  the  rail  in 
such  a  position  as  to  be  press- 
ed down  by  the  flange  of  a 
driving-wheel  passing  over  it. 
The  spring  when  depressed, 
pushes  down  a  rod  r,  which  is  bent  at  right  angles,  and  which 
carries  at  its  end  a  flexible  piece  of  metal  m.  This  piece  of 
metal  which  is  connected  with  a  line  wire  Z,  presses  upon  the 
standard  s,  which  is  connected  to  the  ground.  The  arm  of 
the  rod  r  is  attached  to  the  under  side  of  a  small  pair  of 
bellows^  &,  inclosed  in  a  box  beneath  the  track,  as  shown  in 
the  diagram.  When  the  circuit  is  closed  through  m  and  s, 
the  bellows  is  forced  open,  and  closing  only  gradually,  pro- 
longs the  signal  given  on  the  distant  "  bell-sounder,"  Avhich 
would  otherwise  last  only  so  long  as  the  lever  a  is  depressed. 
The  bell  is  of  the  class  known  as  the  sonnerie  a  trembleur, 
or  trembling-sounder.  Its  construction  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  simple  "bell-sounder"  before  described,  with  this  excep- 
tion ;  that  the  circuit  is  arranged  so  that  as  soon  as  the  ham- 
mer strikes  the  bell,  it  furnishes  a  shorter  route  for  the  current 
than  through  the  helices  of  the  magnet,  or,  as  it  is  termed. 


EEPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT    B.    LINES.  445 

"  cuts  the  magnet  out."  The  magnet  ceasing  to  act,  the  arm- 
ature is  drawn  back  by  the  force  of  the  spring.  But  this  re- 
establishes the  circuit  through  the  coils,  the  armature  is  again 
attracted,  and  the  hammer  again  strikes  the  bell.  It  is 
evident  that  the  armature  will  continue  to  vibrate  and  the  bell 
to  ring  as  long  as  the  circuit  is  closed  at  m  s.  The  train  thus 
announces  its  own  approach  by  signal,  which,  it  is  true,  lasts 
only  as  long  as  the  train  is  passing,  but  which  can  be  made 
permanent  if  necessary,  by  the  introduction  of  a  very  slight 
modification  in  the  apparatus. 

The  use  of  the  lever  at  the  side  of  the  track  was  introduced 
in  America,  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hall,  in  1869,  in  connection 
with  apparatus  which  will  be  hereafter  alluded  to. 

The  trembling-sounder,  here  described,  fills  an  important 
place  in  the  signal  systems  of  Europe.  On  the  continent, 
the  law  generally  requires  gates  to  be  placed  at  grade  cross- 
ings of  common  roads,  which  are  shut  for  a  certain  time 
before  the  passage  of  every  train.  On  some  of  the  lines  in 
France,  the  gatekeepers  are  advised  electrically  of  the  ap- 
proach of  trains  by  the  use  of  the  trembling-sounder,  in  order 
to  close  their  gates.  The  attention  of  the  gatekeepers, 
which  might  not  be  drawn  in  time  for  them  to  interpret  any 
preconcerted  code,  is  attracted  by  a  continuous  signal,  which 
has  but  one  meaning.  As  it  is  unnecessary  that  the  gate- 
keepers should  know  either  the  character  of  the  train  or  the 
direction  from  which  it  is  approaching,  a  number  of  signal- 
boxes  are  sometimes  placed  on  the  same  circuit  and  operated 
at  the  same  time.  The  principal  use  of  this  arrangement  is 
in  the  vicinity  of  towns,  where  crossings  are  near  together. 
The  signals,  in  the  arrangement  described,  are  of  course  sent 
from  fixed  stations.  They  are  not  properly  "  warning-sig- 
nals," of  which  I  propose  to  treat  under  Group  III. 

The  trembling-sounder  is  again  extensively  employed 
throughout  Europe  for  giving  notice  at  stations  of  the  posi- 
tion of  outlying  switches  and  semaphores,  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, proper  to  introduce  the  second  branch  of  my  subject  by 
a  short  notice  of  its  application  to  such  purpose. 


446  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


II.    Signals  giving  knowledge  of  or  control  over  the 

POSITION  OF  switches  OR  SEMAPHORES  NOT  VISIBLE 
TO  THE  PERSON  REQUIRING  SUCH  KNOWLEDGE  OR 
CONTROL. 

The  apparatus  classed  under  this  head  may  be  divided  into  : 

1.  Instruments  simply  giving  information  at  a  distance,  by 
means  of  electricity,  of  the  position  of  switches  or  sema- 
phores, draw-bridges,  etc.  ;  and 

2.  Instruments  by  which  the  position  of  semaphores  may 
be  changed  or  controlled  at  a  distance  through  the  medium  of 
electricity. 

In  technical  parlance,  the  former  are  designated,  both  by 
French  and  German  engineers,  by  the  name  of  "  Control." 
Since  the  introduction  of  the  latter,  however,  a  modification 
of  terms  would  seem  to  be  necessary. 

While  heavy  switches  are  necessarily  turned  by  hand,  the 
lighter  optical  signals,  consisting  genemlly  of  a  metal  arm  or 
disc  placed  at  a  convenient  height  at  the  side  of  the  track,  are 
frequently  manipulated  at  a  great  distance  from  the  stations 
by  means  of  a  wire  running  on  pulleys  at  the  top  of  posts 
some  two  feet  above  the  ground.  These  semaphores  are 
sometimes  out  of  sight  of  the  stations,  and  their  position  can- 
not always  be  known  with  certainty  at  the  latter. 

This  arrangement,  almost  universal  in  Europe,  has  not  been 
found  of  itself  sufficient.  When  there  are  sharp  curves  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  stations,  neglect  of  the  signal-men 
to  perform  their  duty  or  failure  of  the  signal  to  work  properly 
has  been  a  not  infrequent  cause  of  accident.  Still,  on  busy 
lines,  where  the  position  of  semaphores  (which  are  neces- 
sarily placed  some  distijnce  outside  the  switches),  must  be 
frequently  changed  in  pursuance  of  advices  received  by  speak- 
ing telegraph  or  by  signals  of  the  first  class,  they  must  be 
manipulated  from  the  stations.  The  danger  thus  presented 
(in  case  of  breakage  of  the  wire  or  other  failure  of  the  distant 
semaphore)  to  a  train  lying  quietly  at  a  station  of  being  run 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ROBERT    B.    LINES. 


447 


into  by  another,  has  caused  in  Europe  the  very  general  intro- 
duction of  electrical  apparatus  for  its  prevention. 

The  system  of  Mayer  &  Wolff,  telegraphic  instrument- 
makers  of  Vienna,  which  has  been  adopted  and  is  exhibited 
by  the  Nordbahn  Railway  of  Austria,  is  one  of  the  simplest  of 
this  class,  belonging  to  subdivision  a.  The  semaphore  is  a 
disc  of  the  ordinary  class,  which  is  turned  from  the  station  in 
the  usual  manner  by  a  crank  and  wire.  Around  the  support 
of  the  semaphore  is  a  small  circular  box  of  metal,  used  to 
protect  the  connecting  points  of  an  electric  circuit  from  expos- 
ure to  the  weather.  As  the  semaphore  turns  to  the  position 
of  arrest,  a  projection  upon  one  side  of  the  support  touches 
within  the  box  a  brass  spring,  which  is  insulated  from  the 
semaphore  and  its  metal  support,  and  connected  by  a  wire  to 
the  battery  at  the  station.  The  support  itself  is  connected 
with  the  ground,  and  thus  an  electric  circuit  is  formed. 
Plate  lY.  illustrates  the  arrangement. 

Plate  IV. 


In  circuit  at  the  station  is  a  trembling-sounder,  which  rings 
as  long  as  the  disc  is  in  position  of  arrest  and  the  projection 
on  its  support  touches  the  spring.  One  of  the  advantages 
claimed  for  this  particular  apparatus  is,  that  the  bell  does  not 
commence  to  ring  until  the  disc  is  very  near  the  position  of 
arrest,  thus  rendering  false  or  accidental  signals  improbable. 

Where  the  semaphore  adopted  is  an  arm  instead  of  a  disc, 
it  is  evident  that  by  changing  the  position  of  the  connecting 
points  from  the  side  of  the  support  to  the  top  near  the  fulcrum 
of  the  arm,  the  above  system  could  be  used  equally  well.     In 


448  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

that  case,  however,  inspection  of  the  points,  -which  is  neces- 
sary from  time  to  time  in  order  to  keep  the  connections  per- 
fect, would  be  more  difficult. 

The  use  of  the  foregoing  or  similar  apparatus  is  the  cause 
of  that  constant  ringing  of  bell-signals  which  is  so  often 
noticed  by  the  traveller  in  Europe  while  his  train  is  waiting 
at  a  station.  On  the  single-track  routes  of  the  Convpagnie  du 
Midi,  in  France,  the  discs  were  almost  constantly  in  position 
of  arrest.  Hence,  to  avoid  the  incessant  ringing  of  the  bell, 
a  simple  method  was  devised  by  which  the  action  of  the 
apparatus  might  be  suspended  by  hand  at  the  station  and 
reestablished  at  pleasure. 

On  the  above  line  and  also  on  the  line  of  the  Coiivpagnie 
de  Lyon  a  further  modification  of  the  apparatus  was  intro- 
duced. Signals  at  night  being  given  by  means  of  lights,  it 
was  thought  necessary  to  keep  the  stations  advised  as  to  the 
condition  of  the  light,  which  might  by  accident  become  ex- 
tinguished. For  this  purpose  a  bent  rod  of  steel  s  (see 
Plate  V.)  was  placed  near  the  flame  of  the  lamp,  and  in 
Plate  V.  its  upper  end  was  in- 


i|s         ^ — "~"^StP  serted  a  piece  of  cop- 

i    fep  ^  ^^zJ. —  -pQY,     The  lower  arm 

^  Stetlon.      I  «         qJ-   ^|jg     j.qJ     ^^.^g    ^Qj^_ 

**?»«^^-«.aB.. — ^~~-.-.— »«^^--r--=*a^s^»  nected  by  a  wire  to 
the  sonnerie  and  battery  g  at  the  station.  The  heat  of  the 
lamp  causes  both  metals  to  dilate,  but  the  copper  dilating 
more  than  the  steel,  lifts  the  rod  from  the  point  of  contact^, 
which  is  connected  by  a  wire  with  the  ground.  On  the  ex- 
tinction of  the  lamp  the  metals,  it  is  said,  in  the  course  of  fif- 
teen or  twenty  seconds  resume  their  natural  dimensions.  The 
lower  arm  of  the  rod  falls  on  the  point  p,  the  circuit  is  estab- 
lished and  the  bell  at  the  station  rings.  This  apparatus  is 
the  invention  of  M.  Boucher.  Similar  contrivances,  the  in- 
ventions of  Messrs.  Whitaker,  Lewis,  and  others,  with  the 
thermometer  attachments,  have  been  patented  in  England.  In 
the  Italian  department  of  the  Exposition,  near  the  model  of 
the  Mont  Cenis  Tunnel,  is  an  apparatus  employed  by  the 
Alta  Italia  Railway  for  showing  to  a  station  the  position  of 
anoutlying  switch,  which,  although  equally  simple,  is  on  a 
somewhat    difierent   principle  from   the   foregoing  systems. 


EEPOET    OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  449 

The  arrangement  is  shown  in  Plate  YI.  :  I  is  the  lever  of  the 


Plate  VI, 


b 


yr 


switch,  a  heavy  piece  of  iron,  which  is  turned  through  a 
semi-circle  in  order  to  change  the  position  of  the  rails  on  which 
it  acts,  the  connection  not  being  shown  in  the  diagram.  On 
being  turned  from  right  to  left  it  presses  against  the  stout 
metallic  spring  s,  which  is  insulated  from  the  ground  and 
connected  (in  the  apparatus  in  question  by  a  subterranean 
wire)  to  the  magnet  m,  and  through  it  to  the  battery  g 
at  the  station.  The  switch-lever  being  connected  with  the 
ground,  thus  closes  the  circuit  of  the  battery,  which  acts 
upon  the  electro-magnet,  h  shows  the  position  of  the  mag- 
net M  as  it  stands  in  the  box  c,  which  is  placed  against 
the  wall  of  the  station.  Between  the  poles  of  the  electro- 
magnet a  permanent  magnet  d  is  hung,  with  its  poles  so 
arranged  as  to  be  attracted  in  the  direction  of  the  dotted 
lines  when  the  electro  magnet  is  influenced  by  the  current 
from  the  battery  g.  The  axis  of  the  permanent  magnet 
is  carried  up  through  the  card-board  e  to  the  point  h,  where  a 
needle  i  is  secured  to  it  at  right  angles  to  the  permanent 
magnet  d.  The  position  of  the  main  and  side  tracks  is  traced 
on  the  card-board. 

The  apparatus  being  thus  shown,  its  operation  will  be  easily 
understood.  As  soon  as  the  switch-lever  is  thrown  over  to 
change  from  main  to  side  track,  it  presses  against  s,  closing 
the  circuit.  The  electro-magnet  m  attracts  the  permanent 
magnet  d,  which  swings  from  left  to  right,  carrying  with  it 
the  needle  ^,  Avhich  is  thrown  over  to  the  point  f.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  switch  is  thus  indicated  in  the  clearest  manner  at 
the  station. 

There  is  another  interesting  and  useful  instrument  in  the 
Italian  department,   employed  on  the  upper  Italian  railway 

57 


450 


EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


for  the  purpose  of  indicating  to  their  principal  stations  from 
points  outside  at  which  several  tracks  diverge,  the  direction 
from  which  a  train  is  approaching. 

Having  been  unable  to  secure  a  plan  of  this  apparatus,  or 
to  open  it  in  order  to  make  a  sketch,  I  can  only  present 
its  external  appearance.  Its  construction,  hoAvever,  will  be 
readily  understood  by  those  familiar  with  the  application  of 
electro-magnetism  as  a  motive  force. 

Plate  VII.  At  the  station  A  Plate 

VII.  (Milan)  is  an  ap- 
paratus consisting  of 
a  sonnerie  a  trembleur 
and  a  flat  case  or  box 
hung  on  the  wall  in 
the  office  of  the  sta- 
tion-master. The  case 
is  connected  by  three  wires  to  three  circuit-closers  a,  h  and  c 
at  the  junction,  and  by  a  fourth  to  a  sonnerie  which  serves  as 
a  "  control  "  for  the  signal-man. 

On  the  arrival  of  a  train,  say  from  Pa  via,  the  signal-man 
presses  down  the  button  at  a,  throwing  the  current  from  the 
battery  g  upon  the  line.  The  circuit  is  through  an  electro- 
magnet in  the  case,  thence  through  the  magnet  of  the  trem- 
bling-sounder to  the  ground.  The  magnet  in  the  case  turns 
a  disc  so  as  to  display  the  word  "  Pavia "  at  the  window  of 
the  case,  and  at  the  same  time  the  sonnerie  rings,  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  station-master.  The  latter,  by  putting 
down  the  ring  a,  returns  the  disc  to  blank,  arrests  the  ring- 
ing of  his  own  bell,  and  at  the  same  time  closes  the  circuit  of 
the  fourth  wire  to  B,  thus  indicating,  through  the  sonnerie  at 
that  point,  that  the  signal  has  been  received  and  understood. 

The  battery  g  may  of  course  be  placed  at  the  station  as 
well  as  at  the  junction. 

I  have  been  much  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Sig.  Orestes 
Lattes,  an  engineer  of  the  Alta  Italia  Railway,  and  a  member 
of  the  Italian  Commission  and  International  Jury,  for  facil- 
ities given  me  for  the  examination  of  the  interesting  exhibit 
made  by  his  company. 

An  apparatus  of  a  totally  different  character  from  the  others 
of  this  class,  and  in  some  respects  of  entirely  novel  construe- 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES. 


451 


tion,  has  been  lately  adopted  by  the  Chemin  de  fer  du  JVbrd 
of  France,  and  is  exhibited  in  the  case  of  the  Ad7ninistration 
des  Telegra/phes ,  in  the  French  department,  with  other  appa- 
ratus of  the  same  manufacturers,  Digney  freres,  of  Paris.     It 


Plate  VIII. 


L — Line  wires. 
T — Ground  wires. 


452 


EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 


Plate  VIII. 

c 


D 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  453 

is  called  the  "  Sifflet  electro-automateur ,''^  or  Electro-automatic 
whistle,  of  Messrs.  Lartigue  &  Forest.  Its  object  is,  by 
blowing  the  whistle  of  a  coming  train,  to  warn  it  of  the 
position  of  a  switch  or  optical  signal  which  it  is  approaching, 
but  which,  by  reason  of  fog,  heavy  snow,  or  even  rain,  or  the 
extinction  of  a  lamp  at  night,  cannot  be  seen  by  the  engineer. 
It  belongs,  therefore,  to  the  class  of  signals  between  stations 
and  trains  in  motion,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  is  a  step 
in  advance  of  all  the  apparatus  just  described  in  Group  II, 
which  give  notice  of  danger,  it  is  true,  but  whose  warnings 
may,  by  reason  of  the  distance  of  the  switch  or  semaphore 
from  the  station,  arrive  too  late. 

The  invention  consists  of  two  essential  parts,  the  first  being 
the  means  by  which  contact  with  the  train  is  established,  and 
the  second  the  apparatus  employed  to  sound  the  whistle. 
While  in  this  particular  instrument  the  two  are  coupled 
together,  it  is  evident  that  the  first  part  of  the  invention,  if, 
as  seems  to  be  -the  case,  it  is  uniformly  successful  in  its  oper- 
ation, is  capable  of  very  wide  application.  I  am  assured  by 
French  ens^ineers  that  the  contact  has  never  failed  during 
nearly  a  year's  experience,  Avith  trains  going  at  a  speed  of 
sixty  miles  an  hour  (which  is  very  often  attained  by  the 
London  express),  and  with  the  ordinary  obstructions  of 
snow,  dirt,  and  even  heavy  ballast,  upon  the  track. 

Plate  YIII.,  on  preceding  pages,  represents  the  apparatus 
which  is  thus  described. 

Fis:.  A  shows  the  locomotive  and  the  manner  of  making; 
contact ;  B,  the  connections  to  the  distant  semaphore  ;  C,  the 
fixed  contact-plate,  and  D,  the  whistle  upon  an  enlarged 
scale. 

The  whistle  is  of  brass,  in  communication  with  the  boiler, 
and  carried  in  a  metallic  box  on  its  top.  This  box  contains 
a  lever  parallel  to  that  of  the  whistle,  to  which  it  is  attached. 
This  second  lever  is  influenced  by  a  stiff  spiral  spring,  which 
tends  to  lower  it,  and  consequently  to  let  the  vapor  escape. 
It  carries  at  its  extremity,  however,  an  armature  of  soft  iron 
in  contact  with  an  electro-magnet  of  the  "  Hughes  "  pattern, 
composed  of  a  permanent  horseshoe  magnet,  the  arms  of 
which  are  prolonged  by  cylinders  of  soft  iron  surrounded  by 
helices  of  silk-covered  wire.     The  cylinders  become  the  poles 


454  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

of  the  magnet,  and  their  attraction  counterbalances  the  action 
of  the  spring. 

If  a  current  of  electricity  is  made  to  pass  through  the 
helices  in  a  certain  direction  the  armature  is  momentarily 
repelled,  the  lever  falls,  and  the  whistle  sounds  until  the 
engineer,  by  pressing  on  a  button  which  is  shown  on  the 
under  side  of  the  box  (Plate  D),  arrests  it  in  returning 
the  lever  to  its  original  position  (i.  e.,  in  contact  with  the 
magnet) . 

The  current  of  electricity  is  produced  in  the  following 
manner :  — 

The  wire  of  the  magnet  is  connected  on  one  side  with  the 
body  of  the  engine  and  by  the  intermediary  of  the  wheels  and 
rails  with  the  ground.  The  other  extremity  is  prolonged  by 
a  wire  which,  descending  under  the  engine,  is  connected  to  a 
metallic  brushy  insulated  and  fixed  in  such  a  position  that  the 
end  is  lower  by  several  centimetres  than  any  projection  on 
the  engme. 

This  brush  (Figs.  A  and  B)  is  composed  of  stiff  brass 
wires,  of  about  No.  8  gauge,  strongly  set  in  an  insulating 
substance,  but  terminating  at  their  upper  ends  in  a  brass 
plate,  which  is  again  protected  on  the  upper  side  by  insu- 
lation.    The  connection  is  made  by  wire  to  this  plate. 

On  the  track,  at  any  desired  distance  from  the  disc  or 
semaphore,  is  placed  a  "fixed  contact,"  composed  of  a  piece 
of  wood  (see  Fig.  C),  placed  longitudinally  between  the  rails 
and  supported  by  iron  standards  at  such  a  height  as  not  to  be 
touched  by  any  projection  on  the  engine. 

This  piece  of  wood,  covered  with  an  insulating  compound, 
has  on  its  upper  surface  a  sheet  of  brass,  which,  by  means  of 
a  wire  of  any  desired  length,  is  placed  in  communication  with 
the  positive  pole  of  a  galvanic  battery  (see  Plate  B).  The 
negative  pole  is  connected  to  a  commutator  fixed  on  the 
semaphore  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  used  in  Mayer  & 
Wolff's  system  (see  Plate  4),  which  connects  it  with  the 
ground  when  the  disc  is  turned  to  "  arrest."  (The  "  son- 
7ierie"  shown  in  Fig.  B  is  the  station-alarm,  and  has  no 
connection  with  this  apparatus.) 

On  the  passage  of  the  engine  the  brush  presses  strongly 
against  the  fixed  contact.      If  the  distant  semaphore  is  at 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT    B.    LINES.  455 

"line  clear,"  there  is  no  effect  produced.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  turned  to  "  arrest,"  the  sheet  of  brass  is  in  communica- 
tion with  a  source  of  electricity,  and,  on  the  passage  of  the 
locomotive,  the  metallic  brush  completes  the  circuit  through 
the  helices  of  the  magnet,  the  armature  is  repelled,  and  the 
whistle  is  made  to  sound  in  the  manner  described. 

This  apparatus  is  said  not  to  have  been  at  all  deranged  by 
the  shock  of  contact,  and  the  brushes,  after  eight  months' 
usage,  show  scarcely  any  traces  of  wear. 

The  contact  between  the  rails  is  the  one  adopted  by  the 
Compagnie  du  JSTord.  Where  very  heavy  snow-falls  or  other 
obstructions  are  to  be  feared,  however,  the  contact  might 
easily  be  placed  at  the  side  of  the  engine,  at  a  convenient 
height  from  the  ground. 

It  was  feared,  at  first,  that  owing  to  the  speed  of  trains  the 
contact  would  not  be  sufficiently  lasting  to  produce  the  desired 
effect,  and  accordingly  the  first  trials  were  made  with  fixed 
contacts  of  over  four  metres  in  length,  which  permitted  a  con- 
tact lasting  from  one-fourth  to  one-fifth  of  a  second  at  the 
highest  speed.  It  was  found,  however,  that  a  length  of  two 
metres  in  a  fixed  contact  was  sufficient  to  give  the  necessary 
signal,  and  this  is  the  length  adopted. 

Various  applications  of  the  apparatus  (in  its  entirety)  are 
suggested  by  the  inventor,  not  only  for  railways,  but  for  the 
service  of  mines  and  the  marine.  The  important  uses  to 
which  the  contact  alone  may  be  adapted  will  probably  sug- 
gest themselves  in  the  course  of  the  following  pages. 

The  apparatus  of  Group  II,  above  described,  is  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  information  merely  of  the  position 
of  a  switch  or  semaphore.    We  now  come  to  subdivision  b: — 

Instruments  by  which  the  position  of  semaphores  may  be 
changed  or  controlled  at  a  distance  through  the  medium  of 
electricity. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Preece,  the  well-known  Superintendent  of 
British  Postal  Telegraphs,  himself  the  inventor  of  a  very  in- 
genious system  of  signals,  which  will  be  hereafter  described, 
says,  in  an  able  review  of  this  subject,  published  in  1865  :  "If 
it  were  possible  to  work  an  out-door  signal  by  electricity  the 
system  would  be  perfect,  but  inasmuch  as  the  power  of  elec- 
tricity is  but  circumscribed,  we  have  not  yet  attained  that 


456  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

j)roduction  of  force  which  is  necessary  to  actuate  with  any 
degree  of  certainty  our  exposed  signals.  We  are,  therefore, 
compelled  to  adopt  the  nearest  approach  to  this,  and  to  rely 
upon  small  electrical  instruments,  which  direct  the  signal- 
man how  to  exhibit  his  out-door  signals  by  displaying  the 
signals  which  they  themselves  ought  to  give." 

Since  the  date  of  the  above,  the  difBculties  alluded  to  have 
been  ingeniously  overcome  by  several  inventors.  In  the 
number  of  apparatus  the  Austrians,  so  far  as  I  know,  have 
taken  the  lead.  They  have,  in  fact,  the  only  instruments  of 
this  class  at  the  Exhibition.  It  is  only  recently  that  electrical 
signals  for  such  purposes  have  been  permitted  in  Austria. 
There  are  now,  however,  two  systems  in  operation,  and  a  third 
is  completed  and  shown  at  the  Exposition. 

The  first  of  these  is  that  of  Mr.  Hohenegger,  an  engineer 
of  the  Nordwestbahn,  by  which  company  the  signal  is  ex- 
hibited and  employed.  It  is  also  used  on  some  roads  in 
Hungary. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Hohenegger  for  a  diagram  of  the 
apparatus  which  is  shown  in  Plate  IX.  The  machinery  is  in 
many  respects  similar  to  that  of  the  system  Leopolder,  page 
441,  but  its  adaptation  is  so  different  and  so  interesting  that 
it  merits  a  separate  description. 

Plate  IX.  A  shows  the  external  appearance  of  the  sema- 
phore, looking  down  the  line ;  B,  page  458,  the  internal 
apparatus,  and  C  the  connection  to  the  station. 

The  arm  of  the  semaj)hore  moves  through  an  arc  of  forty- 
five  degrees,  and  carries  on  its  left  extremity  a  smaller  arm, 
in  which  are  set  two  circular  pieces  of  glass,  one  red  and  the 
other  green,  which  pass  in  front  of  a  fixed  lantern,  accord- 
ingly as  the  arm  is  raised  or  lowered.  The  lamp  is  raised  to 
its  position  by  means  of  a  chain  shown  in  the  figure.  At 
night,  therefore,  a  red  light  signifies  that  the  line  is  clear, 
and  a  green  one  that  it  is  blocked. 

The  source  of  electricity  is  a  magneto-electric  or  induction 
apparatus  (Plate  C),  which  is  placed  at  the  station.  The 
slightest  turn  of  the  crank  produces  a  sufficient  current  to 
operate  the  semaphore.  To  prevent  accidental  signals,  there- 
fore, the  circuit  is  broken  at  a,  and  it  is  necessary  to  depress 
the   button   a    (which   is    set    even   with    the    surface    of  a 


REPORT   OF   MR.    ROBERT    B.    LINES. 


457 


458 


EXPOSITION   AT  VIENNA. 


small  box  upon  the  table,  and  can  only  be 
moved  by  pressure  of  the  finger)  in 
order  to  complete  the  circuit  to  the  sema- 
phore. 

The  action  of  the  apparatus  is  as  fol- 
lows :  By  depressing  the  button  a  and 
turning  the  crank,  a  current  is  made  to 
pass  out  on  the  line  ?,  through  the 
magnet  in  the  semaphore,  returning  by 
I  to  the  inductor. 

On  the  current  reaching  the  magnet 
(/  Plate  IX.  B),  the  latter  attracts  the 
armature  m,  which  until  then  has  been 
held  in  position  by  the  tension  of  the 
spring  0.  Near  the  fulcrum  of  the 
armature  are  two  arms,  h  and  c,  the 
former  of  which  sustains  the  lever  a  h, 
which  is  hung  at  the  pointy.  As  soon 
as  the  armature  m  is  attracted  by  the 
electro-magnet,  however,  the  support  of 
the  arm  h  is  withdrawn  and  the  lever  a 
h  falls  into  the  fork  of  5  and  c,  the  pro- 
jection on  the  under  side  striking  upon 
the  eccentric  on  wheel  lY.  below.  An 
extension  to  the  right  of  the  fulcrum  p, 
forming  the  short  arm  of  the  lever,  lifts 
the  catch  g,  the  lower  arm  of  which  has 
kept  the  wheel  I.  in  arrest.  The  catch 
being  thus  released,  the  weight  sets  the 
clockwork  of  the  apparatus  in  motion, 
the  course  of  the  wheels  being  indicated 
by  the  direction  of  the  arrows. 
In  Plate  IX.  B  the  signal  is  at  line  clear,  the  arm  being 
raised.  I  represents  the  axis  of  the  arm  to  which  the  latter, 
as  well  as  the  lever  k,  is  immovably  fixed.  The  lever  k  is 
attached  by  a  movable  joint  to  the  upright  z,  which  is  in  its 
turn  attached  by  a  movable  joint  to  the  lever  n.  A  third 
movable  joint  attaches  this  to  the  lower  part  of  z,  which  is 
extended  to  x.  At  x  another  lever  extends  and  is  firmly 
attached  to  the  axis  of  wheel  IV. 


EEPORT    OF    ME.    ROBERT    B.    LINES.  459 

As  wheel  IV.  revolves,  therefore,  in  the  direction  of  the 
arrow,  the  upright  z  is  raised,  and  the  semaphore  lowered  to 
"arrest."  At  the  end  of  a  half  turn,  however,  the  eccentric 
on  wheel  IV.  has  raised  the  lever  a  h  to  its  original  position. 
There  being  no  longer  any  current  passing  through  the  electro- 
magnet /(for,  as  I  have  said,  the  slightest  turn  of  the  crank 
is  sufficient  to  set  the  machinery  in  motion),  the  spring  o  lifts 
the  armature  m,  and  the  arm  b  again  supports  the  lever  a  h  at 
the  point  a. 

An  instant  after,  the  bent  arm  of  the  catch  g,  which  has 
been  kept  in  its  raised  position  by  a  second  eccentric  on  wheel 
IV.,  falls  into  the  notch.  The  lower,  or  straight  arm  of  ^,  is 
thus  raised,  intercepts  the  wheel  I  and  blocks  the  machinery. 
The  joint  X  is  now  above  instead  of  below  the  wheel  IV. ,  and 
the  semaphore  is  maintained  at  the  position  of  arrest. 

It  is  evident  that  another  current  of  electricity  will  again 
release  the  clock-work,  and  the  wheels  moving  again  in  the 
same  direction,  will  bring  the  apparatus  back  to  the  position 
shown  in  the  diagram,  and  change  once  more  the  position  of 
the  semaphore. 

The  number  of  times  this  can  be  repeated,  depends,  of 
course,  upon  the  distance  which  the  weight  has  to  descend 
before  "  running  down."  In  almost  all  of  the  signals  yet 
constructed,  the  clock-work  has  been  placed  by  Mr.  Hohe- 
negger  at  the  top  of  the  apparatus,  instead  of  near  the  base, 
as  here  represented.  The  construction  here  shown  has  been 
lately  adopted  on  account  of  the  difficulty  in  whiding  up  the 
apparatus  at  such  a  height,  but  the  change  has,  of  course, 
rendered  more  frequent  attention  necessary. 

The  use  of  two  wires  in  this  signal,  which  on  a  short  line 
would  not  be  a  matter  of  much  moment,  on  longer  circuits 
would,  of  course,  add  greatly  to  the  expense  of  the  apparatus. 
Its  object  is  to  avoid  the  giving  of  false  signals  b}'^  lightning 
or  "  earth  currents,"  to  which  the  system  would  be  liable  if 
the  earth  formed  part  of  the  circuit.  I  do  not  think  this 
danger  sufficient,  however,  to  justify,  or  rather  to  require  the' 
use  of  a  second  wire  in  case  of  the  signal  being  employed  at 
a  considerable  distance. 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Fig.  C,  that  a  third  wire  is 
employed  for  what  I  suppose  must  still  be  called  the  "  control," 


460  EXPOSiTiOiSr  at  Vienna. 

i.e.,  for  notifying  the  station  that  the  semaphore  has  obeyed 
the- current  from  the  induction  apparatus.  The  connections 
of  this  third  wire  are  not  shown  in  the  plates  representing 
the  semaphore.  Tliey  are  easily  understood,  however,  by 
reference  to  previously  described  apparatus.  When  the  arm 
of  the  semaphore  falls  to  "  arrest,"  it  closes  a  galvanic  circuit 
which  rings  a  "  trembling-sounder,"  and  also  actuates  a 
magnetic  needle,  or  "  optical  control,"  at  the  station.  An 
atmospheric  current  would,  of  course,  act  upon  these  control 
signals,  but  its  influence  would  be  only  momentary. 

The  use  of  this  third  wire,  which  is  connected  to  the  earth 
in  the  ordinary  manner,  is  necessitated  by  the  employment  of 
the  other  two,  forming  a  complete  metallic  circuit.  All  of 
the  operations,  including  the  "  control,"  might  be  performed 
on  one  wire,  and,  it  seems  to  me,  with  entire  safety — certainly 
in  carrying  out  the  particular  purpose  for  which  this  signal  is 
used  at  present.  This,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  the  pre- 
vention by  optical  signals,  of  collision  at  a  station,  and  the 
particular  danger  to  be  apprehended  is  that  the  signal  may 
be  accidentally  changed,  not  from  "line  clear"  to  arrest,  as 
that  would  only  produce  delay,  but  from  "  arrest "  to  "  line 
clear." 

Now,  a  cardinal  principle  of  every  signal  system  should  be, 
as  Mr.  Preece  has  well  expressed  it,  "that  any  derangement 
of  the  apparatus,  or  the  accidental  delivery  of  a  false  signal, 
shall  at  once  indicate  danger  and  produce  safety."  The  use 
of  the  third  wire  only  prevents  the  "accidental  delivery  of  a 
false  signal."  If,  therefore,  the  system  of  Mr.  Hohenegger 
could  be  so  arranged  as  to  carry  out  this  object  with  one  wire, 
the  other  two  would  become  superfluous.. 

At  present,  the  bell  at  the  station  sounds  when  the  arm  of 
the  semaphore  is  at  "  arrest,"  thus  indicating  to  the  station- 
master  that  the  signal  is  performing  its  duty  and  stopping 
approaching  trains.  Suppose,  now,  there  were  only  one  wire 
from  the  station  to  the  semaphore,  operated  by  a  galvanic 
instead  of  an  induction  current,  and  having  the  ends  connected 
to  earth  in  the  ordinary  manner.  A  diagram  (Plate  X.) 
will  perhaps  best  illustrate  the  position  of  the  apparatus. 

A  train  being  at  the  station,  the  station-master  presses 
down  the  button  a,  throwing   the  current  of  the  battery  g 


REPOET    OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  461 

upon  the  line,  setting  the  clock-work  in  motion  and  bringing 
the  semaphore  to  arrest,  which  is  the  position  of  the  diagram. 
The  button  a  returns,  of  course,  to  its  normal  position,  there 
is  no  current  upon  the  line  after  the  signal  is  given,  and  the 
"  control  "  signals  remain  quiet. 

NoAV,  if  an  atmospheric  current  comes  upon  the  line,  it 
discharges  itself  in  the  earth,  influencing,  of  course,  both  the 
"  control "  signals  at  the  station  and  the  magnet/"  of  the  sema- 
phore (Plate  VIII.,  Fig.  B),  both  of  which,  however,  are 
protected  from  damage  by  "lightning-arresters."  The  magnet 
y  turns  the  signal  up  to  "  line  clear."  The  object  now  would  be 
to  advise  the  station-master,  who  may  not  notice  the  moment- 
ary signals  given  by  the  lightning  upon  his  "  control,"  of  the 

Plate  X. 


dangerous  position  of  the  semaphore,  as  he  is  advised,  under 
the  present  three-wire  system,  of  its  proper  position  at  arrest ; 
namely,  by  sounding  continuously  his  "  control-signal."  The 
same  amount  of  attention  which  he  now  gives  to  the  "  control  " 
to  assure  himself  that  the  semaphore  is  in  the  proper  position, 
would,  of  course,  suffice  if  the  "control"  were  used  to  warn 
him  of  danger. 

Suppose  the  commutator  of  the  semaphore,  instead  of,  as 
at  present,  closing  an  extra  "  control "  circuit  when  the  arm 
is  turned  to  arrest,  were,  lohen  the  arm  is  turned  to  "  line 
clear,""  to  break  the  direct  connection  of  the  magnet /with 
the  ground  and  to  bring  in  circuit  an  extra  battery,  g'^ ,  at  the 
same  time  reversing  the  direction  in  which  its  current  should 
pass  around  one  of  the  coils  of  the  magnet  /"and  throwing  the 
current  through  that  coil,  by  way  of  a  resistance  equal  to  that 


462  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

of  the  line  to  the  station,  into  the  ground.  The  current  from 
5^1 ,  dividing  equally  between  the  two  coils  of  the  magnet  /, 
passing  in  one  direction  through  one  and  in  the  opposite 
direction  through  the  other,  would  not  aifect  that  magnet. 

It  would,  however,  ring  the  bell  at  the  station  and  attract 
the  attention  of  the  station-master,  who  would  hasten  to  set 
the  semaphore  again  at  "  arrest."  By  pressing  down  the 
button  a,  he  would  bring  the  station  battery  in  circuit.  The 
current  from  this  battery,  added  to  the  half  of  that  from  g'^ , 
circulating  in  the  coil  of  magnet  f,  which  is  attached  to  the 
line,  would  overcome  the  contrary  influence  of  the  other  half 
of  the  current  from  g'^ ,  "which  passes  in  the  opposite  direction 
through  the  other  coil  of  y  and  the  artificial  resistance,  to  the 
ground ;  the  magnet  f  would  again  be  influenced  to  set  the 
clock-work  in  motion  and  the  semaphore  would  fall  to 
"arrest."  The  commutator,  in  passing,  would,  of  course, 
restore  the  coils  of  the  magnet  f  to  their  harmonious 
relations  and  place  it  again  in  communication  with  the 
ground,  ready  to  be  again  influenced  by  the  current  from 
the  station. 

This  arrangement  (i.  e.,  the  division  of  a  current  by  pass- 
ing it  through  the  reversed  coils  of  an  electro-magnet,  the 
wire  from  one  coil  leading  out  upon  the  line  and  from  the 
other  through  a  resistance  equal  to  that  of  the  line  to  the 
ground,  in  order  that  the  magnet  may  not  be  influenced  by 
its  own,  but  only  by  a  distant  battery),  is  the  principle  of  the 
duplex  telegraph  of  Mr.  Stearns,  now  quite  extensively  em- 
ployed in  America. 

A  rough  sketch  of  the  commutator  suggested  is  shown  at 
Plate  X. 

A  wheel,  turning  in  the  direction  shown  by  the  arrows  and 
making  a  half  turn  for  every  signal,  is  added  to  the  clock- 
work in  the  semaphore.  It  is  furnished  with  sixteen  insu- 
lated metal  cogs,  connected  to  each  other  by  wires,  as  shown 
in  the  diagram.  Above  and  to  the  left  of  the  wheel  is  a  semi- 
circular band,  on  which  are  secured  eight  insulated  metallic 
springs,  which  press  against  the  cogs  and  connect  them  to 
wires  leading  in  the  different  directions  shown.  The  wire 
from  spring  No.  1  leads  to  the  resistance  coil  and  ground. 
No.  2  to  the  extra  battery  g'^  and  ground,  No.  3.  to  the  ground 


REPORT   OP   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  463 

direct,  and  No.  4  to  the  main  line  from  semaphore  to  station. 
Nos.  5,  6,  7  and  8  are  attached  to  the  ends  of  the  coils 
of  the  electro-magnet  /",  by  which  the  clock-work  is  put  in 
operation. 

The  arm  being  at  the  position  of  "  arrest,"  the  circuit 
from  the  line  wire  passes  through  springs  4  and  8  (their 
corresponding  cogs  being  connected)  to  one  coil  of  the 
magnet  /",  thence  by  7  and  6  through  the  other  coil  of  the 
magnet  in  the  ordinary  direction,  thence  through  5  and  3  to 
the  ground. 

If  now  a  current  is  put  on  at  the  station,  or  comes  acci- 
dentally upon  the  line,  the  clock-work  is  released,  the  wheel 
makes  a  half  revolution  and  brings  the  cogs  numbered  from  1 
to  8  opposite  their  respective  springs.  The  circuit  may  then 
be  traced  from  the  battery  g'^  to  2,  thence  to  6  and  7,  where 
it  divides,  part  of  the  current  passing  through  the  right  hand 
coil  of  the  magnet  in  the  ordinary  direction  to  8  and  out  on 
the  line,  ringing  the  bell  at  the  station,  and  the  rest  going  in 
the  opposite  direction  through  the  left  hand  coil,  back  to  5, 
thence  through  1  and  the  resistance  coil  to  the  ground. 

A  simpler  method  of  accomplishing  the  same  object,  if 
practicable,  might  be  to  have  the  commutator  merely  cut  out 
one  coil  of  the  electro-magnet/ when  the  arm  is  thrown  up  to 
"  line  clear,"  and  so  to  proportion  the  strength  of  the  batteries 
p'l  and  g,  and  the  resistances  of  the  magnet/",  and  that 
employed  for  the  "  control  "  bell,  as  to  permit  the  extra 
battery  g'^  to  sound  the  bell  without  being  able  to  influence 
the  magnet  of  the  semaphore  through  one  coil.  The  battery 
g  coming  in  aid  would  add  sufficient  strength  to  the  current 
to  draw  down  the  armature  of  the  magnet  f,  release  the  clock- 
work and  restore  the  semaphore  to  "arrest." 

The  use  of  these  or  similar  contrivances  in  systems  of  dis- 
tance signals  worked  by  electricity  and  clock-work  would 
save  the  expense  of  two  wires,  and,  in  the  Hohenegger  sys- 
tem, of  an  induction  apparatus.  The  cost  and  care  of  an 
extra  battery  at  the  semaphore  would  be  added.  The  conse- 
quences of  atmospheric  electricity  would  not  be  avoided,  but 
rendered  harmless  by  the  prompt  alarm  sounded  at  the 
station.  Of  course,  when  the  signal  is  accidentally  changed 
from  "line  clear"  to  "arrest,"  no  damage,  but  only  delay, 


464  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

is  occasioned.*  The  danger  arising  from  derangement  of 
apparatus  is  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  inherent  in  any 
system. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  Allgemeine  Telegraphenbau-gesell- 
schaft,  of  Vienna,  for  a  drawing  of  the  apparatus  of  Mr. 
Schonbach,  an  engineer  on  the  Westbahn,  by  which  railway 
the  system  is  employed  and  exhibited. 

The  construction  is  identical  with  that  of  the  system 
Hohenegger,  with  this  exception,  that  the  upright  lever, 
instead  of  raising  and  lowering  a  semaphore  arm,  is  used  to 
turn  a  wheel  with  a  toothed  axle.  The  teeth  of  the  latter  fit 
into  the  cogs  of  a  horizontal  wheel,  the  axle  of  which  is 
extended  upwards  and  attached  to  a  circular  disc,  which  it 
turns  half  round  whenever  the  clock-work  is  released  by  the 
magnet. 

Herr  Ritter  von  Bergmiiller,  of  Vienna,  exhibits  a  third 
signal  of  this  class,  which  is  of  much  cheaper  construction 
than  the  others,  the  clockwork  being  all  of  iron.  The  arma- 
ture moves  horizontally  between  the  two  poles  of  the  electro- 
magnet, releasing  a  series  of  catches  controlling  the  clock- 
work, which  turns  the  disc  of  the  semaphore.  The  winding 
apparatus  is  in  the  same  position  as  in  the  Hohenegger  and 
Schonbach  systems,  but  the  weight  descends  several  feet 
below  the  ground,  giving  it  a  fall  of  perhaps  six  feet.  Herr 
von  Bergmiiller  states  that  seven  signals  can  be  given  for 
every  inch  of  the  weight's  descent,  so  that  it  needs  to  be 
wound  up  once  for  every  five  hundred  signals. 

In  1866,  Mr.  Thomas  Hall  devised  a  method  of  connecting 
an  electric  circuit  with  a  switch  or  drawbridge  in  such  a 
manner  that  when  the  rails  of  the  track  were  displaced  the 
circuit  would  be  closed  thereby  and  a  danger-signal  shown 
by  means  of  a  semaphore,  operated  by  an  electro-magnet, 
while  at  the  same  time  a  continuous  alarm  would  be  sounded 


*  In  bell  signals,  on  which  a  code  is  used,  the  danger  of  atmospheric  electricity 
imitatmg  or  changing  the  signals  is  very  slight ;  where  the  trembling-sounder  is 
employed,  a  continuous  ringing  cannot  be  produced ;  and  where  a  signal  is  given  by 
and  the  "  control  "  returned  to  a  train  in  motion,  as  might  be  done  by  combining  the 
automatic  whistle  with  any  of  the  systems  in  Group  II.  h,  the  intervention  of  light- 
ning at  the  moment  of  receiving  the  "  control "'  is  exceedingly  improbable.  If  in  all 
of  these  cases,  however,  delay  only  and  not  danger  is  occasioned,  its  rare  occurrence 
would  be  more  than  compensated  by  the  saving  in  wires. 


REPORT    OF    MR.    ROBERT    B.    LINES. 


465 


by  a  vibrating  electric-bell  at  one  or  more  points.  This  was 
put  in  successful  operation  within  a  year  or  two  at  several 
points  on  the  New  York  and  New  Haven,  and  other  roads. 
The  semaphores  consisted  of  a  disc  of  colored  cloth,  stretched 
over  a  hoop  and  placed  upon  one  end  of  a  swinging-lever,  the 
other  end  being  provided  with  a  counter-balance,  and  the  disc 
is  displayed  by  means  of  an  electro-magnet,  the  armature  of 
which  was  connected  by  a  series  of  compound  levers  with  its 
axis. 

Mr.  Frank  L.  Pope,  the  well-known  electrical  engineer  of 
New  York,  has  kindly  furnished  me  with  a  drawing  and 
description  of  his  new  signal,  which,  although  not  on  exhibi- 
tion at  Vienna,  has  taken  the  first,  prize  at  the  Cincinnati  In- 
dustrial Exposition,  and  is  already,  if  I  mistake  not,  in  opera- 
tion on  several  American  railwaj^s. 

The  signal  is  based  on  a  different  principle  from  any  yet 
described,  except  that  of  Mr.  Hall.  It  uses  but  one  wire  for 
the  signalling  and  "control,"  and  has  in  this  respect  a  decided 
advantage  over  the  European  systems. 

It  also  dispenses  with  all  clockwork,  using  the  direct  force 
of  electro-magnetism  to  turn  the  disc.  This  too,  I  doubt 
not,  gives  the  system  considerable  advantage  as  regards  both 
first  cost  and  cost  of  maintenance  or  attention.  The  first  cost 
of  the  European  systems,  however,  I  have  found  it  impossible 
to  obtain,  in  most  cases,  with  any  accuracy,  and  even  were 
it  obtainable,  the  prices  here  would  afford  no  criterion  of  the 
cost  in  America. 

For  ingenuity  of  construction  in  an  electrical  point  of  view, 
also,  the  system  of  Mr.  Pope  far  surpasses  any  of  those  here- 
tofore described. 

Plate  XI. 

A 


wi 


B 


59 


466  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Plate  XI.  illustrates  the  appearance  and  working  of  the 
apparatus. 

The  external  appearance  of  the  semaphore  is  shown  in  Fig. 

A.  It  is  placed  on  a  post  at  the  right-hand  side  of  the  track, 
at  a  suitable  height  from  the  ground  ;  the  signal  is  exhibited 
through  two  openings,  each  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  covered 
with  glass,  and  illuminated  at  night  by  a  lamp  fitted  with  a 
reflector  at  the  back  of  the  signal-box. 

The  interior  mechanism  of  the  semaphore  is  shown  in  Fig. 

B.  D  is  a  disc  about  thirty  inches  in  diameter,  divided  into 
four  quarters,  alternately  white  and  red.  An  adjustable 
counter- weight,  W,  attached  to  the  periphery  of  the  disc, 
keeps  it  in  the  proper  position  to  show  red,  indicating  danger, 
except  when  under  the  influence  of  the  electric  current. 
Thus  a  white  signal  can  only  be  shown  when  the  machinery 
and  battery  are  in  perfect  working  order. 

The  disc  is  made  to  turn  through  one-fourth  of  a  revolution 
by  means  of  an  electro-magnet  M,  the  armature  of  which  is 
attached  to  the  short  arm  of  the  angular  lever  L,  having  a 
fulcrum  at  I.  The  long  arm  of  this  lever  is  connected  by  the 
pitman  P  with  the  crook  K  on  the  axis  of  the  signal-disc. 
Thus  the  disc  will  turn  and  show  a  white  signal  whenever  the 
magnet  M  is  charged  by  the  electric  current.  N  is  a  supple- 
mentary magnet  for  locking  the  signal  in  position,  when  set 
white,  as  hereinafter  explained. 

The  apparatus  at  the  station  may  be  at  any  required  dis- 
tance from  the  semaphore.  It  consist  of  a  secondary  or  sta- 
tion-signal, which  in  principle  and  external  appearance  is  a 
miniature  copy  of  the  distant  semaphore — a  difierential  relay, 
a  signal-switch  for  operating  the  semaphore,  and  a  main  and 
also  a  local  battery.  In  most  cases  a  portion  of  the  main 
battery  may  be  employed  to  do  the  work  of  the  local. 

The  operation  of  the  apparatus  is  as  follows  :  If  it  is 
.  desired  to  set  the  distant  semaphore  white,  the  signal-switch  is 
turned  on  the  stud  m;  a  circuit  is  thus  formed  from  the  main 
battery  through  the  switch,  wire  1,  maguet  R  of  the  difi"eren- 
tial  relay,  wire  2,  semaphore  magnet  M,  wire  3,  circuit 
charger  4,  and  wire  5.  The  magnet  R  attracts  its  armature 
strongly,  bringing  the  lever  J  into  contact  with  B,  and  then 
forcing  the  latter  against  the  stop  e,  so  that  the  local  circuit, 


REPORT    OF   BIR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  467 

which  operates  the  small  signal,  is  broken  at  z,  notwithstand- 
ing it  was  at  the  same  instant  closed  at  x. 

At  the  same  time  the  magnet  M  tmnis  the  semaphore  disc 
D  in  the  direction  shown  by  the  arrow.  Just  before  the  disc 
D  completes  its  movement,  and  after  the  white  signal  has  been 
fully  exhibited,  a  projection  at  o,  on  the  lever  L,  comes  in 
contact  with  a  corresponding  projection  on  the  circuit-charger 
4  and  lifts  it  up,  breaking  the  previously  existing  electrical 
contact  at  n.  This  cuts  the  battery  current  off  from  the 
magnet  M  and  instantly  transfers  it  to  the  locking  magnet  N. 
This  occurs  just  as  the  soft  iron  armature  Q  on  the  disc  comes 
in  contact  with  N,  and  the  latter  being  now  strongly  mag- 
netic, seizes  Q  with  great  force  and  locks  the  signal  disc 
firmly  in  its  new  position.  The  magnet  N  is,  however, 
wound  with  a  much  finer  wire  than  M,  and  the  insertion  of 
this  great  amount  of  extra  resistance  in  the  circuit  weakens  it 
to  less  than  half  its  original  strength  in  the  relay  R.  When 
this  occurs,  the  spring  S,  which  is  adjusted  with  a  strong 
tension,  pulls  the  lever  J  away  from  the  relay -magnet  until  it 
is  itself  arrested  by  the  stop  z.  At  this  juncture  the  local 
circuit  is  completed  through  wires  8,9,  and  10,  and  levers  B 
and  J,  and  the  station-signal  turns  to  white  also,  respecting 
the  movement  of  the  semaphore. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  system  of  Mr.  Pope,  Avhich  requires 
a  permanent  current  to.  maintain  the  semaphore  at  "  line 
clear,"  entirely  avoids  the  danger  from  atmospheric  currents, 
which  seems  to  have  been  a  bugbear  of  European  systems, 
and' that  it  fulfils  as  completely  as  possible  the  cardinal  con- 
dition of  Mr.  Preece,  that  "any  derangement  of  the  appa- 
ratus, or  the  accidental  delivery  of  a  fiilse  signal,  should  at 
once  indicate  danger  and  produce  safety." 

Were  it  required  to  deliver  the  signal  from  a  passing  train, 
the  object  might  perhaps  ho,  accomplished  by  substituting  for 
the  mao'uet  M  a  mao^net  such  as  that  used  for  the  automatic 
whistle  (Plate  VIII.),  the  armature  of  which  should  be  at- 
tracted by  the  combined  force  of  the  permanently  magnetized 
cores  and  of  a  current  of  electricity  sent  in  one  direction,  and 
again  repelled  (on  the  arrival  of  the  train  at  a  second  contact 
where  the  semaphore  should  be  changed)  by  the  combined 
force  of  the  spring  and  a  current  sent  in  the  opposite  direction. 


468  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

The  locldng-magnet  N  could  be  placed  on  a  local  circuit,  to 
be  opened  and  closed  at  n  by  the  lever  L.  As  a  very  slight 
weight  would  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  disc  in  position  of 
"  arrest,"  a  slight  force  in  the  locking-magnet  would  seem  to 
suffice  to  counterbalance  it,  and  this  force  would  be  easily 
overcome  by  the  stronger  impulses  given  to  the  armature 
through  the  large  magnet  M.  In  this  case  the  latter  would  be 
wound  with  small  and  the  locking-magnet  with  large  wire. 

III.  Signals  of  Warning  at  Grade  Crossings  of  Com- 
mon Roads. 

There  are  no  signals  of  this  class  on  exhibition  at  Vienna, 
but  the  subject  is  too  important  to  be  passed  over  in  a  review 
of  railway  signals.  Ordinarily  in  Europe,  as  I  have  said, 
gates  are  required  to  be  kept  at  the  crossing  of  highways, 
and  they  are  generally  closed  in  obedience  to  electrical  signals 
sent  from  fixed  stations. 

The  use  of  gates  may  be  the  only  means  of  securing  safety 
to  those  who  cannot  or  will  not  take  heed  of  optical  or  aural 
signals,  and  assure  themselves  that  no  train  is  near  before 
crossina:  the  track.  Where  sio-nals  are  sent  from  fixed  stations 
to  the  persons  in  charge  of  the  gates,  the  large  number  of 
attendants  required  along  a  line  where  grade  crossings  are 
frequent,  is  a  source  of  great  expense  to  the  railway.  If 
several  crossing  signals  are  connected  in  one  circuit,  as  is 
sometimes  the  case  in  France  (see  signals,  class  1),  an  un- 
necessary delay  may  be  caused  to  traffic  on  the  highway. 

The  employment  of  gates  is,  therefore,  not  always  desirable, 
or  even  practicable,  in  America.  The  frequency  of  accidents 
shows,  however,  that  the  means  of  prevention  at  present 
employed  are  not  sufficient.  When  casualties  of  this  kind 
are  not  due  to  the  wilful  carelessness  of  the  traveller  on  the 
highway,  they  are  generally  occasioned  either  by  his  inability 
to  see  the  approaching  train  or  hear  its  signal,  or  by  the 
neglect  of  the  eno-ineer  to  sound  its  whistle  or  bell  in  time. 

What  is  wanted,  therefore,  is  an  aural  or  optical  signal  (or 
both) ,  placed  at  the  crossing,  which  sliall  be  sounded  or  dis- 
played without  the  aid  of  attendants  whenever  a  coming  train 
reaches  a  certain  distance  from  it,  and  shall  continue  to  sound 
or  be  displayed  until  the  train  has  passed. 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    EGBERT  fe.    LINES.  469 

111  18G9  Mr.  Hall  patented  a  method  of  using  his  signal  and 
alarm  apparatus,  before  described,  at  highway  crossings,  the 
electric  circuits  in  this  case  being  controlled  by  the  moving 
train,  through  the  agency  of  levers  placed  in  close  proximity 
to  the  rails,  and  in  such  a  position  as  to  be  depressed  by  the 
wheels  of  the  train  as  it  passed. 

This  object  may  also  be  accomplished  by  means  of  a  com- 
bination of  the  "  automatic  whistle  "  contact  with  a  "  sonnerie," 
and,  if  necessary,  with  a  Pope's  or  Hohenegger's  semaphore. 

In  case  both  the  sonnerie  and  the  semaphore  are  employed, 
the  latter  only  need  be  actuated  by  the  momentary  current, 
and  the  arm  or  disc  may  be  used  to  close  a  local  circuit  which 
shall  actuate  the  sonnerie  until  the  semaphore  is  again  changed. 

If  the  aural  signals  are  thought  to  be  sufficient,  then  a 
relay  must  be  introduced  like  the  magnet  of  the  "automatic 
whistle,"  the  armature  of  which  shall  keep  the  secondary 
circuit  of  the  sonnerie  closed  until  a  current  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  the  first,  reverse  the  position  of  the  armature. 

If  the  automatic  whistle,  as  well  as  its  brush  contact,  were 
employed  on  the  engine,  it  would  serve,  of  course,  as  an 
additional  alarm  to  the  traveller  on  the  highway,  and  would 
warn  the  engineer  as  well  that  he  was  approaching  a  crossing. 

Plate  XII.  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  circuits  for  both 
a  sonnerie  and  semaphore  signal.  The  Hobenegger  sema- 
phore is  shown,  that  being  adapted  to  momentary  signals  ; 
with  some  such  modification  as  that  suggested,  however,  the 
Pope  system  could  be  nsed  equally  as  well. 


-  "^y  u^*.—. 


The  train  approaching  in  the  direction  shown  by  the  arrows, 
closes  at  A  the  circuit  of  the  semaphore,  which,  turning,  closes 
the  local  circuit  of  tlft  sonnerie.  Then  passing  the  crossing 
of  the  highway  and  touching  the  fixed  contact  B,  it  turns  the 
arm. of  the  semaphore  back  to  "line  clear,"  the  local  circuit 
opens,  and  the  sonnerie  ceases  to  ring. 


470  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

A  is  supposed  to  be  at  some  distance,  say  a  mile,  from  the 
crossing,  while  B  is  close  by.  For  trains  going  the  other 
way,  two  "  fixed  contacts  "  would  be  required,  at  C  and  D, 
but  on  a  double  track  all  four  might  be  connected  with  one 
wire  to  the  semaphore.  The  "fixed  contacts"  would,  on  a 
single-track  road,  have  to  be  set,  not  in  the  centre,  but  at  the 
sides  of  the  track,  so  that  trains  going  in  either  direction  * 
would  only  touch  two  of  the  four — the  movable  contact  being 
also,  of  course,  placed  near  the  side  of  the  engine. 

If  the  sonnerie  alone  were  used,  there  would  be  needed  two- 
batteries  at  the  semaphore  instead  of  one,  and  the  direction 
of  their  poles  would  be  reversed  in  order  to  give  reverse  sig- 
nals on  the  magnet  of  the  primary  circuit  before  spoken  of. 
A  and  C  would  be  connected  to  the  positive  pole  of  one  bat- 
tery, and  B  and  D  to  the  negative  pole  of  another.  The 
additional  cost  would  be  trifling. 

IV.     Signals    "  Coveeing  "   the   Position   of  Trains   in 
Motion  from  Trains  Following,  Meeting  or  Crossing. 

This  class  includes  all  electrical  apparatus  applied  to  the 
"block  system,"  and  to  the  system  of  "interlocking  points" 
at  junctions,  and  is  perhaps  the  most  important  division  of 
the  subject  of  railway  signals. 

The  term  "block,"  as  applied  to  railway  signals,  has  be- 
come fixed  in  railway  parlance,  at  least  in  England,  and  is 
used  to  designate  a  system  under  which  the  road  is  divided 
into  sections,  of  greater  or  less  length,  protected  by  signals 
which  allow  only  one  train  to  be  on  a  section  at  any  given 
time.  Mr.  Preece  thinks  that  the  term  arose  from  the  neces- 
sity, in  the  earlier  systems,  of  "blocking"  or  pinning  over 
the  signal-lever  to  protect  the  line  from  following  trains.  He 
suggests  that  the  term  "space''  system,  as  opposed  to  that  of 
"  twie,"  would  probably  be  more  accurate. 

The  "time"  system,  as  employed  in  England,  detained  a 
train  for  five  minutes  after  a  preceding  one  had  passed  the 
signal-station,  and  exhibited  a  "  caution  "  signal  for  five  min- 
utes more.  Regard  being  had,  however,  to  the  difference  in 
the  speed  of  trains,  and  to  the  various  accidents  or  delays 
which  may  happen  between  two  signals,  and  which  often 
cannot  be  notified  to  a  following  train  in  time  to  prevent  a 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT    B.    LINES.  471 

collision,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  "time  "  system  affords  little 
or  no  safeguard. 

The  question  has  been  very  thoroughly  gone  into  by  Mr. 
Preece  and  by  Colonel  Tolland,  Government  Inspector  of 
Eailways  in  England.  As  long  ago  as  1862,  the  latter 
gentleman  said : — 

"An  interval  of  time,  as  a  means  of  avoiding  collisions  between 
trains,  is,  in  my  judgment,  worse  than  useless  ;  it  is  deceptive  and 
thorougtily  uncertain,  as  an  interval  of  half  an  hour  at  one  station 
may  have  entirely  disappeared  before  the  train  arrives  at  its  next 
appointed  stopping-place  ;  whereas,  an  interval  of  space,  no  matter 
how  short,  between  following  trains,  if  preserved,  will  always  pre- 
vent a  collision  from  taking  place." 

At  a  very  recent  discussion  of  the  subject  before  the  Society 
of  Telegraph  Engineers  in  London,  in  which  both  these  gentle- 
men participated,  the  conclusion  arrived  at  was  almost  unani- 
mous, that  the  "block"  system,  strictly  carried  out,  was 
the  only  certain  preventive  of  collision.  If  the  block  is  abso- 
lute, and  no  other  is  safe  or  entitled  to  the  name  of  block, 
there  seems  to  be  no  alternative  for  the  use  of  electricity  in 
working  and  maintaining  it.  The  emj)loymeut  of  signal-men, 
within  sight  of  each  other,  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  and  3^et  it 
appears  to  be  the  only  way  to  carry  out  the  principle  of  the 
block  without  electrical  aid. 

The  only  approach  to  an  equivalent  of  the  block  in  America 
has,  until  lately,  been  found  in  the  system  of  "train  de- 
spatching," but  this  requires,  to  be  effective,  a  corps  of 
skilled  telegraphers,  which  cannot  always  be  procured  for 
railway  service. 

On  some  of  the  English  railways,  trains  are  run  at  intervals 
of  three  minutes  under  the  block  system.  On  the  London  and 
North- Western,  the  signal-stations  are  two  miles  apart,  and 
on  the  Charing  Cross  extension  of  the  South-Eastern  Rail- 
way, less  than  a  mile.  While  none  of  tKe  American  roads, 
probably,  have  anything  like  a  corresponding  traffic,  there 
are  many  where  trains  run  too  frequently  to  permit  of  their 
being  blocked  at  telegraphic  stations  irregularly  located,  and 
sometimes  at  long  distances  from  each  other.  The  train-de- 
spatcher's  order  to  a  following  train  is,  therefore,  to  "  run  as 


472  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

section  two"  of  the  preceding  one,  or  to  "  proceed,  keeping  a 
sharp  look-out "  for  it  to  the  next  station,  and  "  wait  for 
orders."  This  at  once  introduces  all  the  danger  and  uncer- 
tainty of  the  English  time  system. 

I  do  not  wish  to  disparage  the  manner  in  which  the  train- 
despatching  system  is  conducted.  Where  skilled  American 
telegraphers  are  employed  and  properly  remunerated,  they 
do  their  work  better  than  any  others  in  the  world.  Such 
men  cannot  be  had  for  railway  service,  however,  in  sufficient 
numbers  to  allow  a  telegraph  office  at  every  point  where  the 
block  system  would  establish  a  signal,  and  a  large  traffic 
cannot,  therefore,  be  worked  with  safety  by  "train  despatch- 
ing." Were  a  simpler  telegraph  employed  for  the  ordinary 
service,  the  block  system  adopted  for  the  running  of  trains, 
and  each  worked  by  railway  employes,  economy  and  safety 
would,  probably,  both  be  advanced  by  the  change. 

Various  forms  of  the  block  are  in  use  in  England  on  the 
different  railways,  none  of  which  are  on  exhibition  at  Vienna. 
From  the  simple  needle  to  the  most  complicated  apparatus, 
however,  the  instruments  in  use  have  merely  one  purpose, — 
that  of  sending  a  signal  from  one  signal-station  to  the  man  in 
charge  at  the  next,  who  controls  the  movement  of  the  sema- 
phore. 

The  system  of  Mr.  Preece,  which  is  adopted  by  the  Metro- 
politan Railway,  comprises  three  wires,  two  of  which  are  em- 
ployed for  the  block-signals  proper,  one  for  each  line  of  rails, 
and  one  for  movement-signals  (see  class  1)  and  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  block-signals.  On  the  third  wire  a  "  bell- 
sounder "  is  employed,  with  a  code  to  indicate  the  character 
of  approaching  trains,  etc. 

The  apparatus  is  shown  at  Plate  XIII.  as  working  between 
Barnes  and  Putney.  The  semaphore  and  switch-lever  (Fig. 
A)  are  miniature  copies  of  those  used  for  out-door  signals 
worked  by  hand.  They  are  inclosed  in  a  box  or  placed  on 
the  counter  in  the  signal-house  at  each  station. 

There  are,  according  to  Mr.  Preece,  two  fundamental  re- 
quirements of  the  system  :  one  being  that  the  signal-man  at 
one  station  shall  have  "sole  and  complete  control"  of  the  sem- 
aphore at  the  other;  the  other  being  that  "every  signal  shall 
be   properly  acknowledged,  and    that   the    acknowledgment 


REPOET   OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES. 


473 


shall  not  only  imply  the  due  receipt  of.  the  signal  sent,  but 
that  it  has  been  correctly  understood  and  properly  acted 
upon." 

Plate  XIII. 


474  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

To  fulfil  these  requirements,  the  switch-lever  at  Barnes 
must  "control"  (in  the  sense  of  change)  the  position  of  the 
semaphore  at  Putney,  and  the  semaphore  at  Putney  must, 
with  the  aid  of  the  Putney  signal-man,  whose  business  it  is  to 
acknowledge  on  the  bell  the  signal  received  from  Barnes,  in- 
dicate at  Barnes  its  obedience  to  the  switch-lever,  thus  fur- 
nishing a  "control"  in  the  continental  sense  of  acknowledg- 
ment. 

The  natural  position  of  the  semaphore  is  at  arrest,  both  in 
the  out-door  signals  and  in  the  miniature  copy  (shown  at  Fig. 
B) .  In  the  signal  system  the  out-door  semaphore  is  always 
required  to  be  changed  to  follow  the  indications  of  the  one  in 
the  signal-box. 

Suppose  a  train  to  be  waiting  at  Putney  until  another  shall 
have  passed  Barnes,  leaving  the  section  between  the  two  sta- 
tions clear.  As  soon  as  the  first  train  passes  Barnes,  the  lat- 
ter throws  his  switch-lever  to  off.  This  closes  the  circuit  of 
a  galvanic  battery,  whose  current  passes  through  the  magnet 
A  (Fig.  B)  of  the  semaphore  at  Putney,  attracting  the  arma- 
ture lever  B,  and  by  the  very  simple  mechanism  shown  in  the 
cut,  lowering  the  arm  of  the  semaphore  to  "line  clear." 

The  signal-man  at  Putney  then  lowers  the  arm  of  the  out- 
door signal,  permitting  the  train  to  .pass  on  towards  Barnes. 
He  then  signals  its  approach  to  Barnes  by  depressing  the 
"piston-key"  or  "plunger"  h  (Fig.  A),  which  closes  as  often 
as  depressed,  the  circuit  of  the  third  or  bell-wire.  There  are 
two  batteries  for  use  on  this  wire,  one  of  which  has  its  posi- 
tive, and  the  other  its  negative  pole  to  the  ground.  The  arm- 
ature lever  B  of  the  seniaphore  magnet  is  connected  to  one  of 
the  contact  points  of  the  plunger  5,  the  other  being  connected 
to  the  wire  to  Barnes.  The  positive  pole  of  one  battery  is 
connected  to  the  point  E  (Fig.  B)  and  the  negative  pole  of 
the  other  to  the  point  F,  between  which  points  the  armature 
lever  B  works.  It  follows  then  that  when  the  semaphore  is 
at  "arrest"  the  current  thrown  on  the  line  by  depressing  the 
plunger  would  be  from  one  battery  through  E,  and  when  the 
semaphore  is  at  "line  clear"  it  would  be  from  the  other  bat- 
tery through  F. 

The  semaphore  at  Putney  being  in  the  latter  position,  the 
depression  of  the  plunger  throws  the  current  on  the  bell-wire 
from  the  battery  connected  to  F. 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  475 

This  current  first  actuates  a  bell-sounder  at  Barnes  (Fig. 
C)  in  the  ordinary  manner,  announcing  the  approaching  of 
the  train  from  Putney.  In  addition  to  the  ordinary  hammer- 
armature,  however,  there  is  a  permanent  magnet  M  swinging 
between  the  poles  of  the  electro-magnet,  as  shown  in  Fig.  D. 
When  the  battery  from  E  is  on  the  line,  this  magnet  swings 
over  to  the  left,  and  when  the  battery  from  F  is  on,  it  is  then 
thrown  to  the  right,  in  consequence  of  the  different  polarities 
given  to  the  electro-magnet  by  the  change  of  the  direction  of 
the  current.  The  axis  of  this  permanent  magnet  is  pro- 
longed as  in  the  Italian  switch-control  heretofore  described 
(see  Plate  V.),  and  works  a  rack  and  pinion  movement, 
shown  in  the  cut,  which  controls  a  needle-indicator  on  the 
outside  of  the  case.  The  movement  of  the  indicator  is,  of 
course,  the  reverse  of  that  of  the  magnet.      (Fig.  A.) 

The  permanent  magnet  at  Barnes  once  thrown  to  "off"  by 
the  signal-man  at  Putney,  is  not  again  disturbed  except  by  a 
reversed  current  from  the  battery  through  E,  which  cannot  be 
put  on  the  wire  while  the  semaphore  at  Putney  indicates  "  line 
clear."  ^Any  number  of  signals  may,  therefore,  be  made  on 
the  bell  at  Barnes  indicating  the  character,  etc.,  of  the  ap- 
proaching train. 

But  as  soon  as  the  train  has  passed  Putney  it  is  necessary 
that  his  semaphore  should  be  blocked.  The  signal-man  at 
Barnes,  therefore,  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  the  informa- 
tion of  the  approach  of  the  train  by  throwing  his  switch-lever 
over  to  "on."  This  releases  the  armature  lever  B  of  the  mag- 
net at  Putney,  and  the  semaphore  at  Putney  indicates  "arrest." 
The  man  at  Putney  then  blocks  his  out-door  signal  to  corres- 
pond, and  again  depresses  the  plunger  h  to  show  that  the  sig- 
nal from  Barnes  has  been  acted  upon.  This,  however,  throws 
the  current  from  E  instead  of  F  upon  the  bell-wire,  and  the 
indicator  at  Barnes  marks  "signal  on  at  Putney." 

The  system  of  check  and  control  in  the  working  of  this 
apparatus  seems  to  be  complete.  No  one  signal  can  be  given 
and  acknowledo;ed  without  the  concurrence  of  the  sio-nal-men 
at  both  stations,  and  the  chance  of  accident  through  its  fault 
is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  system  Tyer  is  in  use  on  several  of  the  English  rail- 
ways, and  on  the  Lyons  and  Eastern  railways  in  France,  and 


476 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


is  highly  spoken  of  by  the  managevs  as  well  as  by  M.  Amiot, 
the  French  inspector  of  telegraphs,  in  his  report  to  which  I 
have  alluded. 

Plate  XIV.  illustrates  its  general  appearance  and  working. 


Plate  XIV. 


At  the  terminal  station  A,  the  "receiver"  consists  of  two 
coils  of  electro-magnets,  G  and  D,  both  communicating  on 
the   one  hand  with  the  ground  through  the  medium  of   a 


EEPOET    OF   ME.    EOBEET   B.    LINES.  477 

"trembling-sounder"  T,  and  on  the  other  hand  with  the  man- 
ipulator, to  be  hereafter  described.  Each  of  these  coils  is 
placed  above  the  centre  of  a  permanent  horseshoe  magnet, 
whose  poles  N,  S,  touch  lightly  the  exterior  surface  of  the 
platina,  under  the  indications  "occupied,"  "free,"  and  contains 
a  core  of  soft  iron,  at  the  upper  extremity  of  which  a  light 
needle,  d,  g,  also  of  soft  iron,  vibrates  freely  between  the  two 
poles  of  the  permanent  magnet. 

The  receiver  at  the  intermediate  station  B  does  not  differ 
from  that  of  the  terminal  station  except  in  that  the  coil  D^, 
giving  the  signals  for  the  right  track  (in  going  from  B  to  A) 
is  placed  above  the  coil  G^ ,  which  gives  the  signals  for  the 
left  line  of  rails. 

The  manipulator  is  the  same  at  both  stations.  It  comprises 
two  buttons,  M  and  M^,  which,  when  pressed  doAvn,  move 
two  rods,  held  by  spiral  springs.  Each  of  these  rods  is  fur- 
nished at  its  farther  extremity  with  two  insulated  rectangular 
pieces  of  copper  R,  E-^ ,  Ri ,  R j ,  placed  in  front  of  a  series 
of  seven  upright  metallic  springs,  m,  n,  o,  1,  jj,  q,  r.  The 
centre  spring  1,  connected  at  the  bottom  with  the  line  wire, 
touches  at  the  top,  when  neither  of  the  buttons  M,  M^ ,  are 
pressed  down,  upon  a  screw  V,  connected  to  the  wire  of  the 
"left  track"  coil  G.  The  six  other  springs  are  connected 
together  by  metallic  bands,  two  by  two,  as  shown  in  the  cut, 
and  connnunicate  as  follows  :  — 

The  two' inside  springs  m,  r,  with  the  wire  of  the  "right 
track"  coil,  D,  the  two  springs  n  and  j?  with  the  copper  pole 
of  the  battery,  and  the  springs  o  and  q  with  the  zinc  pole. 

When  the  right-hand  button  M^  is  pressed,  the  copper  rec- 
tangles at  the  end  of  its  rod  connect  the  springs  /  and  j9,  and 
q  and  r  as  shown  in  the  dotted  lines  of  the  cut,  at  the  same 
time  breaking  the  connection  between  I  and  v  and  insulating 
the  former  from  the  coil  G,  with  which  it  communicated. 

In  the  same  manner  the  left-hand  button  M,  if  pressed, 
would  insulate  I  from  G,  and  connect  I  with  o,  and  n  with  m. 
The  effect  of  this  would  be,  as  will  be  easily  seen  by  tracing 
the  connections,  that  w'hen  the  button  M^  is  pressed,  a  posi- 
tive current  will  be  transmitted  on  the  line  L  and  a  negative 
current  through  the  coil  D  and  the  sonnerie  T.  In  pressing 
the  button  M,  exactly  the  opposite  effect  will  be  produced. 


478  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

Supposing  N  and  S  to  represent  the  north  and  south  poles 
of  the  permanent  magnet,  it  will  be  easily  seen  that  on  the 
pressure  of  the  right-hand  button  M^  at  the  sending  station, 
the  negative  current  sent  through  the  coil  D  would  develop  a 
north  pole  at  the  near  extremity  of  the  soft  iron  core  of  that 
helix,  which  polarity  would  bie  communicated  to  the  free  end 
of  the  needle  d.  This  needle,  attracted  by  the  south  pole  S, 
and  repelled  by  the  pole  N  of  the  permanent  magnet,  would 
be  thrown  over  to  the' indication  "free,"  while  the  positive 
current  sent  over  the  line  through  L,  thence  through  L^,  1^, 
to  the  coil  Gfi ,  at  the  receiving  station,  would  develop  a 
south  pole  at  the  free  end  of  the.  needle  g'^ ,  which  would  be 
thrown  over  to  N^ ,  i,  e,  to  the  indication  "free,"  as  at  the 
sending  station. 

The  pressure  of  the  left-hand  button  M  would,  by  revers- 
ing the  direction  of  the  currents,  have  a  contrary  effect  on 
both  the  needles  g  and  cZ^,  indicating  "occupied."  The  same 
effects  would  be  produced  by  pressing  M,  and  Mj,  at  the 
other  station  upon  the  needles  d^  and  g. 

Each  signal  sent  from  either  station  sounds  the  bells  T  and 
Ti ,  calling  attention  to  the  signal. 

Suppose  a  train  now  to  leave  the  station  A  for  B,  no  other 
being  on  the  line  between  the  two  and  all  the  needles  being; 
therefore  at  "line  free."  The  agent  at  A  having  covered  the 
train  by  his  out-door  signal,  presses  the  button  M^ .  The 
needles  d  and  g^  being  already  at  "free,"  this  would  simply 
rino-  the  bells  of  the  two  stations  without  chano:inoj  the 
indicators. 

The  agent  at  B,  thus  advised  of  the  coming  of  a  train,  ac- 
knowledges the  signal  by  pressing  his  left-hand  button  Mj . 
He  also  rings  the  sonneries  T^  and  T,  at  the  same  time  throw- 
ing over  the  needles  d^  and  ^^  to  "occupied."  The  needles 
at  both  stations  thus  indicate  that  one  line  of  rails  is  occupied, 
and  that  at  A  is  a  reminder  that  the  outside  semaphore  should 
be  at  "arrest." 

When  the  train  arrives  at  B,  the  agent  there  presses  the 
button  M|  and  brings  back  to  "free"  the  two  needles  cA  and 
^,  again  ringing  the  bell  T  to  notify  A  of  the  arrival  of  the 
train . 

If  when  one  train  is  coming  from  B  to  A,  another  passes  A 


REPOET   OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  479 

on  the  second  track  for  B,  the  agent  at  A,  instead  of  presshig 
Ml  to  advise  B  of  its  departure,  which  would  throw  the 
needles  d  and  g^  to  "free,"  presses  the  button  M,  towards 
which  the  needle  d  is  now  inclined  as  in  the  case  hefore  de- 
scribed it  was  inclined  towards  M^ . 

It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  the  rules  adopted  for  the  entire 
system  of  signalling,  which  are  the  same  as  in  any  "block" 
system.  To  carry  them  into  effect  on  the  apparatus,  the  fol- 
lowing special  directions  are  given  : 

1.  To  signal  the  departure  of  a  train,  press  upon  the  but- 
ton towards  which  is  inclined  the  needle  of  the  "right  track." 

2.  To  acknowledge  this  signal,  press  upon  the  button  un- 
der the  indication  "occupied." 

3.  To  announce  the  arrival  of  a  train,  press  upon  the  but- 
ton under  the  indication  "free." 

The  two  instruments  necessary  for  intermediary  stations  are 
generally  inclosed  in  one  box,  as  shown  in  the  cut. 

The  system  of  Mr.  Tyer,  in  a  telegraphic  point  of  view,  is 
very  ingenious  and  possesses  the  great  advantage  of  requiring 
but  one  wire.  Like  Mr.  Preece's  system,  each  signal  requires 
the  concurrence  of  the  agents  at  both  stations  before  it  is  com- 
pleted. There  is,  therefore,  very  little  danger  from  atmos- 
pheric electricity.  Unlike  Mr.  Preece's  system,  that  of  Mr. 
Tyer  does  not  give  the  man  at  one  station  "sole  and  complete 
control"  of  the  indicator  at  the  other.  But  the  control  spoken 
of  by  Mr.  Preece  is  only  electrical,  and  might  easily  be  over- 
come by  mechanical  means.  It  being  suggested  that  the  sig- 
nal-man might  "tie  down  the- arm  of  the  semaphore  with  a 
string,"  Mr.  Preece  very  aptly  replied  that  he  might  also 
"neglect  his  duty,  disregard  his  signals,  and  swear  that  the 
semaphore  was  down  when  it  was  really  up." 

In  the  Tyer  system  a  signal-man  to  change  his  own  signal 
must  also  change  that  of  his  neighbor,  and  this  is  probably  as 
good  a  control  as  putting  it  out  of  his  power  to  interfere  elec- 
trically with  his  own  indicator. 

The  new  system  of  Messrs.  Siemens  &  Halske,  exhibited 
both  in  the  German  and  English  departments  at  Vienna,  goes 
a  step  farther  towards  the  control  of  the  signal-man  than 
either  the  Preece  or  Tyer  system.     By  the  kindness  of  Dr. 


480 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


Werner  Siemens,. of  Berlin,  I  have  been  furnished  with  draw- 
ings of  this  apparatus  which  are  here  presented. 

A  shows  the  external  appearance  of  the  apparatus  at  an 
intermediate  station,  the  arms  a,  a^  of  the  semaphore  being 


a,  a^ 


worked  by  the  cranks  h,  5^.  The  arm  a  gives  the  signal  for 
up,  and  the  arm  a}  for  down-trains.  The  crank  c  is  used  to 
turn  a  magneto-electric  apparatus  in  the  box,  from  which  cur- 
rents are  transmitted  in  one  direction  or  another,  accordingly 
as  the  commutator  knob  or  plunger  d  or  d}  is  jrressed  down. 
The  discs  shown  on  the  face  are  controlled  by  the  current,  and 


REPOET    OF    MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES. 


481 


show  white  or  red  as  the  line  is  clear  or  blocked  on  their  re- 
spective sides.     B  shows  the  internal  mechanism  and  connec- 

Plate  XV. 

B   ^  ^ 


tions,  with  the  addition  of  duplicate  sets  of  bells  and  plungers 
(Pi  and  P2) ,  not  shown  in  A,  which  are  used  for  signalling 
the  forward  movement  of  trains.  There  are  other  forms  of 
the  apparatus,  but  this  is  the  most  complete,  and  was  the  one 
chosen  for  exhibition  at  Vienna. 

The  figure  shows  the  up-track  "  blocked "  and  the  down- 
track  clear.  A  "down"  train,  we  will  suppose,  is  about 
passing  the  station. 

61 


The  signal-man  has  four  things  to  do  : 


482  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

to  set  his  out-door  signal  at  block,  so  as  to  prevent  a  second 
train  passing  down  ;  to  set  the  disc  in  his  box  to  correspond 
with  the  semaphore  ;  to  notify  the  station  above  him  that  the 
train  has  passed,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  unblock  his  sig- 
nal ;  and  to  notify  the  station  below  that  the  train  is  coming. 
The  first  of  these  operations  is  performed  by  turning  the 
"  semaphore  winch  "  from  left  to  right,  so  as  to  rest  against 
the  point  f,  which  lowers  the  right  arm  of  the  semaphore, 
signifying  "  block."  (This  is  the  present  position  of  the  left- 
hand  winch  and  the  left-hand  arm  on  the"up-line"  side.) 
The  second  and  third  operations  are  performed  together,  as 
follows  :  The  plunger  marked  T^  is  depressed  (which  could 
not  before  be  done) ,  carrying  down  with  it  the  metallic  spring 
a,  which  is  cut  off  from  W^  and  connected  to  5,  and  also 
carrying  down  the  spring  rod  G,  which  presses  the  pawl  c 
into  the  notch  on  the  axis  of  the  winch.  ■  The  handle  K  of 
the  magneto-inductor  is  then  turned,  which  causes  alternate 
positive  and  negative  currents  to  flow  along  the  commutator 
marked  -f-  and  the  wire  in  connection  therewith,  and  through 
the  right  coil  of  the  electro-magnet  E^,  thence  by  6,  a,  L^,  %^ 
and  Pi  out  on  the  line  L^.  The  electro-magnet  E^,  actuated 
by  alternate  positive  and  negative  currents,  alternatel}^  at- 
tracts and  repels  an  armature  swinging  between  the  ends  of 
the  two  coils.  On  the  upper  end  of  this  armature  is  a  bell- 
hammer,  which  strikes  the  right  hand  and  centre  bells ;  on 
the  lower  end  is  an  escapement  which  works  into  the  teeth  of 
the  half- white,  half-red  index  placed  behind  the  right  hand 
glass  disc  shown  in  fig.  A.  A  sliding  weight  on  the  stem  of 
the  plunger  T^  presses  down  upon  the  opposite  end  of  the 
index,  and,  as  the  escapement  moves  back  and  forth,  the 
index  is  raised,  tooth  by  tooth,  until  the  red  takes  the  place 
of  the  white  behind  the  glass,  and  the  box-signal  corresponds 
with  the  semaphore.  The  depression  of  G  has  allowed  a 
lever  I  to  press  against  the  shoulder  H  on  the  rod,  and,  as 
the  index  rises,  its  axis,  half  of  which  is  cut  out,  prevents 
the  lever  I  from  returning.  The  rod  G,  therefore,  holds  down 
the  pawl  c,  and  pi'evenfs  the  out-door  semaphore  from  being 
unblocked  until  the  index  is  brought  back  to  white,  or  "  line 
clear."  This  will  be  understood  by  reference  to  the  left  side 
of  the  diagram. 


EEPORT    OF    ME.    ROBERT    B.    LINES.  483 

Now,  "whenever  the  plunger  T^  is  depressed,  the  sliding- 
weight  on  its  rod  presses  on  the  tail  of  the  index  and  prevents 
its  descending,  the  index  can  only  be  brought  down  again  and 
the  semaphore  released  by  a  current  from  the  station  below 
when  T^  is  up.  This  brings  us  to  the  third  operation  per- 
formed by  the  signal-man,  which  is  to  notify  the  station  above, 
by  unblocking  his  box-signal  and  releasing  his  semaphore,  that 
the  train  has  passed.  The  "  up-line  "  side  being  blocked  on 
the  diagram,  the  method  of  unblocking  will  appear  if  we 
trace  the  course  of  the  circuit  on  that  side  from  wire  L^,  Pi, 
«i,  L^,  a,  W^,  through  "  down-bell"  W^  and  the  right  coil  of  the 
electro-magnet  E^  to  the  ground.  The  alternate  positive  and 
negative  currents  move  the  escapement  on  the  lower  end  of 
the  armature,  aiid  the  index,  not  being  pressed  by  the  slidiug- 
weight,  which  would  give  it  an  upward  bias,  falls,  by  its  own 
weight,  tooth  by  tooth.  White,  or  "  line  clear,"  is  shown 
behind  the  glass ;  the  lever  /  is  released  by  the  half-turn  of 
the  axis,  and  this  releases,  as  well,  the  spring  rod  G  and 
pawl  c,  permitting  the  signal-man  to  turn  his  semaphore  also 
to  "  line  clear." 

From  the  above  explanation  it  is  evident  that  the  signal- 
man cannot  advise  the  preceding  station  of  the  passage  of  a 
train  until  he  has  first  blocked  his  own  semaphore ;  and  that, 
having  once  blocked  his  semaphore,  he  cannot  unblock  it 
until  he  has  received  clear  and  unmistakable  notice  from  the 
succeeding  station  that  the  train  has  passed  there.  Two 
motions — depression  of  the  plunger  and  turning  the  handle  of 
the  inductor — are  necessary  for  any  signal,  and,  as  a  succes- 
sion of  alternately  positive  and  negative  currents  is  required 
to  move  the  index,  no  signal  can  be  delivered  by  lightning  or 
other  accident.  For  convenience,  one  coil  (or  rather  one 
magnet ;  for  the  two  coils  are  not  connected  as  in  ordinary 
electro-magnets)  is  used  on  each  side  for  arriving,  and  the 
other  for  departing,  signals. 

To  signal  the  forward  movement  of  trains  from  one  station 
to  the  next,  the  upper  plunger,  say  P^,  is  depressed  and  the 
handle  of  the  magneto-inductor  turned.  The  current  then 
goes  from  the  commutator  marked  T  to  P^,  P^,  and  ^2,  where 
it  divides,  a  portion  going  out  on  the  line,  and  the  rest 
through  U,  W^,  up  bell,  and  the  left  coil  of  E^  to  the  ground. 


484  EXPOSITION    AT    VIEISHSTA. 

But  half  of  the  sphidle,  where  touched  by  T,  is  cut  away; 
hence,  only  one  current  is  transmitted,  and,  as  the  armature 
of  E^  requires  alternate  positive  and  negative  currents  to 
attract  and  repel  it,  rocking  the  escapement,  the  index  is  not 
moved  either  at  the  transmitting  or  the  receiving  station. 
The  only  effect,  therefore,  of  turning  the  crank  Avhen  the 
upper  plungers  are  depressed  is  to  ring  the  bell  at  the  station 
above  or  below,  as  the  case  may  be,  thus  advising  the  signal- 
man of  the  approach  of  a  train. 

As  far  as  safety  is  concerned,  the  apparatus  of  Messrs. 
Siemens  seems  to  fulfil  the  requirements  of  a  block-system 
more  completely  than  any  other  yet  introduced  in  Europe. 
No  accidental  signals  can  be  given,  and  neglect  of  duty  on 
the  part  of  the  signal-man  causes  no  danger,«but  only  delay. 
Danger  may  arise,  as  in  any  of  the  systems  yet  described, 
from  the  train  breaking  in  two  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
engineer  or  of  the  signal-man,  who,  on  its  passage,  would 
unblock  the  signal  of  the  preceding  station  while  cars  might 
be  standing  on  the  track  between  the  two.  There  is  also  the 
chance,  always  remote,  that  the  signal-man  will  wilfully  do 
wrong,  and,  his  own  block  being  on,  signal  to  the  preceding 
station  that  the  train  has  passed,  when,  in  fact,  it  has  not. 
The  adoption  of  induction  instead  of  galvanic  currents,  the 
control  by  one  signal-man  over  the  semaphore  of  another, 
and  the  use  of  but  one  wire,  give  this  system  an  advantage 
over  the  preceding  block  instruments.  It  has,  however,  in 
common  with  them,  the  disadvantage  of  being  quite  expen- 
sive, and  requiring  the  constant  attention  of  a  signal-man  at 
each  station. 

These  last  two  considerations  would  probably  alone  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  adoption  of  this  or  indeed  any  of  the 
block  systems  yet  described,  on  American  railways. 

Within  the  past  five  or  six  years,  the  automatic  signal  of 
Mr.  Hall,  before  described,  has  been,  by  a  slight  change  in 
the  relative  position  of  the  semaphores  and  circuit-closers, 
made  to  serve  as  a  block  system.  The  semaphores,  enclosed 
in  suitable  cases,  are  placed  at  intervals  of  about  a  mile  along 
the  track.  Thus,  when  a  train  passes  one  of  the  signal- 
stations,  the  wheels  of  the  locomotive  will  depress  a  lever, 
close  an  electric  circuit,  and  display  a  danger-signal,  which  is 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  485 

provided  with  a  detent,  serving  to  retain  it  in  this  position 
after  the  train  has  passed.  When  the  train  arrives  at  the 
next  signal,  this  operation  is  repeated,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  second  circuit  is  closed,  running  back  to  the  lirst-mentioned 
signal,  and  releasing  or  reversing  it.  Thus  each  train  is 
supposed  to  maintain  a  danger-signal  at  least  a  mile  in  the 
rear  at  all  times. 

Although  this  system  dispenses  with  the  expense  of  attend- 
ants, it  still  requires  two  wires,  the  lever  is  liable  to  be 
displaced  by  the  shock  of  passing  traius,  and  the  failure  of  a 
wire  or  battery  may  cause  a  failure  to  display  the  danger- 
signal  at  a  critical  moment.  Like  previous  systems,  it  does 
not  provide  for  the  breakage  of  a  train,  and  it  is  not  adapted, 
without  considerable  modification,  to  a  single  track  railroad, 
it  being  what  is  called  a  "non-following,"  but  not  a  "non- 
meeting"  block.  The  system  which  seems  to  obviate  these 
objections  the  most  completely,  has  been  produced  by  Mr.  F. 
L.  Pope,  of  the  Electric  Eailroad  Company  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Pope's  system  is  based  on  the  electrical  law,  that  a 
current  will  divide  itself  between  two  conductors,  in  propor- 
tion to  their  respective  conducting  capacity,  and  by  numerous 
carefully  conducted  experiments,  he  found  that  the  conductiv- 
ity of  a  mile  or  more  of  ordinary  fish-jointed  rail  exceeds 
that  of  the  cross-ties  and  ballast  between  the  tracks,  even  in 
very  wet  weather.  Bearing  this  fact  in  mind,  it  will  be  easy 
to  understand  the  system. 


In  Plate  XVI.,  A  A  represents  a  railway  track.  One  rail 
forms  a  continuous  conductor,  while  the  other  is  divided, 
electrically  speaking,  into  sections,  by  means  of  insulated 
joints  a  a)-  a?.  The  long  sections  a  o}  are  a  mile  or  more  in 
length,  while  the  alternating  short  sections  ci^  cfi   are  only 


486  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

about  fifty  feet  in  length.  The  trains  are  supposed  to  move 
in  the  direction  indicated  by  the  arrow.  The  electric  magnet 
S  which  operates  the  semaphore,  together  with  the  semaphore 
itself  and  its  fixtures,  are  placed  200  or  300  feet  in  advance  of 
the  short  section  a^  a?.  The  semaphore  is  the  same  shown  in 
Plate  XI.,  under  class  2. 

Opposite  the  signal  apparatus,  a  battery  B  is  connected 
to  the  continuous  rail  of  the  track  by  a  wire,  1.  From 
the  opposite  pole  of  the  battery,  two  wires,  2  and  3,  are 
conducted  to  two  relays,  R  and  R^,  and  thence  to  the  long 
and  short  sections  of  the  other  rail,  a  o}  and  a^  a^  respec- 
tively. These  two  relays  control  the  local  circuit  4,  5,  6,  7, 
which  operates  the  semaphore,  by  means  of  the  local  bat- 
tery E. 

The  normal  position  of  the  semaphore  indicates  "danger." 
But  whenever  a  current  is  passing  through  the  magnet  S, 
it  will  indicate  "  safety,"  until  the  current  is  interrupted, 
when  a  counterbalance  weight  returns  the  signal  to  its  former 
position. 

When  a  train,  passing  in  the  direction  of  the  arrow, 
reaches  the  short  section  of  rail,  its  wheels  and  axles  form  an 
electrical  connection  with  the  opposite  rail,  closing  the  circuit 
of  the  relay  E,^,  the  armature  of  which  in  turn  closes  the 
local  circuit  at  x.  A  moment  afterward,  the  advancing  train 
reaches  the  long  section  at  a)-,  actuating  the  other  relay  R  in 
the  same  manner,  and  closing  the  local  circuit  at  y.  The 
local  circuit  being  now  complete  at  x  and  y,  the  electro- 
magnet S  is  charged,  and  a  safety-signal  shown,  which 
indicates  to  the  engineer  that  he  may  proceed  with  safety. 
As  soon  as  the  last  car  of  the  train  has  passed  the  point  cO-, 
the  relay  R^  opens,  breaking  the  local  circuit  and  returning 
the  semaphore  to  "danger."  The  relay  R,  however,  will 
remain  closed  while  the  train  is  passing  over  the  long  section, 
alid  the  local  circuit  will,  during  this  time,  pass  through  the 
wires  6,  7  and  8,  including  the  retaining  magnet  M.  If, 
therefore,  another  train  should  enter  upon  the  short  section  d^ 
o?,  it  would  be  unable  to  close  the  local  circuit  at  x,  and  thus 
cause  a  safety-signal  to  be  shown,  because  the  armature  of  the 
relay  R^  would  be  held  fast  by  the  attraction  of  M. 

In  this  system  it  will  be  seen  that  the  circuit  closers,  being 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  487 

composed  of  sections  of  the  track  itself,  are  not  subject  to 
wear  or  derangement ;  a  safety-signal  cannot  be  shown  unless 
every  battery  is  in  working  order,  and  every  wire  unbroken  ; 
nor  can  a  safety-signal  be  given  when  any  part  of  a  preced- 
ing or  meeting  train  remains  upon  the  section  of  track 
between  two  signal-stations. 

Experiments  have  been  made  on  a  prominent  American 
railway  with  an  apparatus  for  block  and  other  signalling,  the 
invention  of  a  Mr.  Rousseau,  based  on  the  well-known  princi- 
ple of  the  deflection  of  the  magnetic  needle  by  the  proximity 
of  a  mass  of  iron.  An  ordinary  compass  needle  is  placed  on 
a  post  at  the  side  of  the  track,  and  on  the  passage  of  the 
locomotive  it  is  deflected,  so  as  to  close  a  galvanic  circuit, 
by  which  a  semaphore  is  operated. 

Enough  has  been  said,  probably,  on  the  subject  of  "  block- 
signals,"  to  illustrate  the  different  systems  in  use  and  to  give 
the  reader  an  idea  of  their  comparative  merits.  Several  sys- 
tems, such  as  Clark's,  Walker's,  Spangoletti's  and  Yarley's, 
requiring  the  services  of  a  signal-man,  have  been  worked  in 
England  more  or  less  satisfactorily.  Of  two  new  automatic 
English  systems,  Carr's  and  Binney's,  I  have  been  unable  to 
secure  descriptions.  The  latter,  however,  seems  to  resemble, 
in  some  respects,  the  system  of  Mr.  Pope.  The  points  of  an 
American  system,  Robinson's,  are  covered  it  is  claimed,  by 
Hall's  and  Pope's  instruments. 

When  the  block  is  worked  at  junctions,  it  is  known  in 
England  as  the  system  of  "interlocking  points."  The  best 
known,  perhaps,  of  these  systems,  is  that  of  Messrs.  Saxby 
&  Farmer,  the  invention  of  an  employe  of  the  North  London 
Railway,  named  Chambers.  It  is  not  electrical  in  its  opera- 
tion, but  the  objects  to  be  accomplished  are  the  same  in  every 
system.  In  the  apparatus  shown  at  Vienna  there  are  two 
sets  of  signals,  called  near  and  distant,  for  each  line  of  rails, 
making  eight  signals  at  a  double-track  crossing.  The  normal 
position  of  the  semaphores  is  at  "arrest."  They  are  worked 
by  a  range  of  levers  at  the  junction,  which  are  so  connected 
that  no  one  of  them  can  be  moved  so  as  to  put  its  correspond- 
ing semaphore  at  "  line  clear,"  unless  the  signals  on  the  cross- 
ing tracks  are  at  "  arrest."  The  levers  and  semaphores  are 
numbered,  and  on  each  lever  are  also  painted  the  numbers  of 


488 


EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 


the  levers  and  semaphores,  which  must  be  at  "arrest"  before 
it  can  be  moved.  Hence,  if  the  engineers  obey  the  signals, 
there  is  no  danger  of  collision.  Delay,  and  not  danger,  is 
produced  by  the  neglect  of  the  man  in  charge  of  the  levers. 
Where  there  are  switches,  as  in  the  case  of  a  branch  line,  each 
switch  is  connected  to  the  same  lever  as  its  semaphore,  and 
the  signal  cannot  be  put  at  "  line  clear "  unless  the  switch 
is  right.  In  the  model  shown  at  Vienna,  there  are  also  gates 
which  close  across  one  line  of  rails,  as  for  instance,  those 
running  north  and  south,  when  trains  arc  crossing  east  and 
west,  and  vice  versa. 

In  electrical  interlocking  sys- 
tems, the  "  circuit  "  on  which  each 
semaphore  is  placed,  is  carried 
through  the  "points"  of  the  other 
'"^'.  e  semaphores  or  switches,  which 
must  be  closed  in  order  that  the 
6  first  semaphore   may  be   worked. 

Messrs.  Siemens  &  Halske,  have 
an  elaborate  apparatus  on  exhi- 
bition at  Vienna,  in  which  each  switch  and  its  corresponding 
semaphore  is  connected  to  a  shding-bar  and  a  lever  at  the 
junction  station.  By  means  of  the  electrical  apparatus  used 
in  Siemens'  block-signals,  no  switch  or  semaphore  can  be 
moved  until  all  the  switches  and  semaphores  on  crossing 
tracks  are  placed  at  "arrest."  Mr.  Pope's  electrical  sema- 
phore has  been  adapted  to  the  interlocking  system,  the  con- 
nections being  made  in  the  following  manner  : — 


^?^:^.. 


■  Plate  XIX. 

--" :;  I  v.-^-n^'-'-i-. 

..-: 

:::'""' 

''^''''W' 

■-'-• 

■*:,-.--. 

A 

u  • 

Line  iviraa  . 

T  o 

Orouncf  ivires. 

■----~o-» 


All  four  semaphores,  A  A^  13  B  S  are  arranged  to  stand  red 
by  the  action  of  gravity,  when  no  current  is  passing.  The 
switch  S  being  turned  on  the  point  a,  gives  the  right  of  way 


REPORT    OF   MR.    ROBERT   B.    LINES.  489 

on  the  semaphores  A  and  A^.  Turning  it  to  h  would  reverse 
the  arrangement.  It  is  obvious  that  the  battery  can  only  be 
on  one  pair  of  signals  at  a  time,  and  that  a  white  signal  on 
one  road  necessarily  involves  a  red  one  on  the  other.  By 
placing  S  between  the  studs  a  and  6,  all  the  signals  may 
be  kept  at  red,  except  when  a  train  on  either  road  is  to  be 
passed  over. 

5.  Signals  Between  the  Various  Portions  of  a  Train. 

The  signals  embraced  under  this  head  are  so  few  and  com- 
paratively so  unimportant,  that,  but  for  the  distinctiveness  of 
their  object,  they  would  scarcely  be  entitled  to  separate  classi- 
fication. In  Europe,  where  the  cars  are  divided  into  com- 
partments and  the  passengers  locked  therein,  a  necessity  may 
sometimes  arise  for  immediate  communication  between  the 
passenger  and  the  guard  or  conductor ;  but  even  in  such  cases 
the  ordinary  American  bell-rope  would  seem  to  be  as  certain 
and  convenient  as  the  electrical  and  pneumatic  apparatus  in 
use  on  some  European  roads.  I  have  seen  at  the  Exposition 
an  elaborate  piece  of  mechanism,  worked  by  compressed  air, 
by  means  of  which  a  passenger  in  danger  was  enabled  to  ring 
a  bell  in  the  conductor's  car,  and  to  light  a  lamp  at  the  door 
of  his  own  compartment  at  the  same  time,  so  that  the  con- 
ductor might  know  exactly  where  his  assistance  was  needed. 
It  does  not  seem  probable,  however,  that  such  an  apparatus 
could  ever  be  required  on  American  railroads.  To  warn  the 
conductor  or  engineer  of  the  breaking  of  a  train  the  bell-rope 
would  also  seem  sufficient ;  or,  if  not,  an  arrangement  similar 
to  that  used  by  Mr.  Pope  in  his  block-signalling  system  would 
obviate  all  danger. 

Electric  brakes  have  from  time  to  time  been  invented,  but, 
so  far  as  I  know,  never  applied  with  anything  like  the  success 
which  has  attended  the  operation  of  the  air-brake  system. 
One  of  these,  the  invention  of  M.  Achard,  is  on  exhibition  at 
Vienna.  Frequent  experiments  have  been  made  with  it  on 
various  French  railways,  but  none  have  been  altogether  suc- 
cessful. Neither  the  brakes,  however,  nor  the  various  con- 
trivances for  electrical  gas-lighting,  etc.,  on  trains,  properly 
come  within  the  scope  of  this  report. 

62 


490  exposition  at  vienna. 

6.     Signals  to  be  Used  in  Case  of  Accident. 

The  sixth  of  the  classes  into  which  I  have  divided  railway 
signals  is  also  small,  and  contains  little  which  has  not  already 
been  alluded  to  under  another  head.  Only  one  apparatus  con- 
structed solely  and  specially  for  a  "distress-signal"  is  on 
exhibition  at  Vienna. 

On  some  of  the  French  roads,  a  Morse  or  other  speaking  tele- 
graph is  carried  on  each  train,  to  be  attached  to  the  line  in  case 
of  accident.  On  others,  as  that  of  the  Compagnie  du  JSford, 
a  dial  telegraph  is  placed  at  intervals  of  about  two  and  one- 
half  miles.  The  number  of  these  on  the  lines  of  that  com- 
pany, is  between  two  and  three  hundred.  They  are  arranged 
like  the  Siemens  signal,  described  in  class  1,  so  that  shutting 
the  door  of  the  signal-box,  closes  the  circuit  automatically. 

Messrs.  Siemens  &  Halske  have  in  their  case,  at  the 
Exposition,  an  apparatus  consisting  of  an  upright  iron 
standard,  surmounted  by  a  signal-box,  in  which  is  placed 
appropriate  clock-work.  These  boxes  are  placed  at  short 
intervals  along  the  road,  and  on  each  train  is  carried  a  set  of 
keys  of  different  length,  corresponding  in  number  to  the 
number  of  signals  embraced  in  the  code.  Each  key,  there- 
fore, has  its  corresponding  signal  in  a  code,  similiar  to  that 
used  in  the  system  of  Mantelli  (Plate  II).  In  case  of  an 
accident,  the  signal  desired  is  produced  by  inserting  the 
proper  key  in  an  aperture  in  the  signal-box.  The  clock-w^ork 
is  released,  and  an  electric  circuit  is  automatically  closed  and 
opened  a  certain  number  of  times,  according  to  the  length  of 
the  key.  Whenever  the  circuit  is  closed,  a  bell  is  rung  at 
the  box,  and  another  at  the  station  from  which  assistance  is 
expected.  At  the  latter,  the  closing  of  the  circuit  also  auto- 
matically releases  a  series  of  clock-work,  carrying  a  strip  of 
paper,  as  in  the  ordinary  Morse  register,  on  which  paper  the 
code  signal  is  printed. 

Where  accidents  result  from,  or  lead  to,  the  displacements 
of  rails,  it  would  seem  possible  (by  an  application  of  the 
principle  of  Mr.  Pope's  block-signal),  in  the  one  case,  to  pre- 
vent them  by  advising  a  coming  train  of  the  displacement,  or 
in  the  other,  to  notify,  by  electric  and  automatic  means,  a 
station  from  which  assistance  may  be  obtained. 

ROBEET  B.  LINES. 


REPORT    OF    MR.    HOWE    ON    RAILWAY    SWITCHES,    ETC.      491 


EAILWAY  SWITCH  AND  SIGNAL  APPARATUS. 


BY    ELMER    P.    HOWE. 


Group 

The  frequent  recurrence  of  railroad  accidents  caused  by 
misplaced  switches,  or  by  deceptive  signals,  has  made  the 
problem  of  their  construction  and  management  of  great  im- 
portance, and  on  its  exact  and  certain  solution  depends  the 
safety  of  the  travelling  public,  and  the  avoidance  of  great 
pecuniary  loss  to  the  railroad  companies. 

The  electric-bell  systems  and  telegraphic  communications 
adopted  almost  universally  in  Europe,  and  to  some  extent  in 
this  country,  regulate  the  departure  of  trains,  and  serve  to 
inform  the  conductor  as  to  the  condition  of  the  track  he  is  to 
traverse.  They  thus  diminish  the  chances  of  collision.  Their 
value,  however,  is  between  stations,  as  they  do  not  aiford 
security  while  entering  or  passing  through  places  where  there 
are  many  branches  and  crossings.  To  guard  these,  semaphore 
arms  and  suspended  balls  are  used,  which,  in  their  various 
positions,  denote  the  state  of  the  track.  On  roads  where  the 
traffic  is  limited,  they  can  be  watched  by  one  man,  and  a  tol- 
erable degree  of  security  is  afforded.  As  tracks  are  multi- 
plied, and  as  at  terminal  stations  the  number  of  trains  and 
shifting  locomotives  is  larger,  the  general  oversight  is  more 
difficult,  and  there  is  greater  probability  of  mistakes  arising 
from  the  forgetfulness  or  incapacity  of  signal-men.  More- 
over, with  the  increase  of  traffic  more  employes  are  neces- 
sary; an  objection  of  great  weight  in  this  country.  The 
desideratum  is,  then,  to  have  all  the  signals  and  switches 
under  the  immediate  supervision  of  one  man,  with  as  few 
assistants  as  possible,  and  to  have  machinery  so  arranged 


492  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

that  there  shall  be  no  incongruity  between  the  position  of  the 
signal  and  that  of  the  switch. 

In  England  the  following  regulation  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
is  in  force,  in  respect  to  all  new  lines  and  new  junctions  upon 
old  lines  :  — 


"  The  signal  handles  and  levers  of  the  switches  at  junctions  shall 
be  brought  together  under  cover  upon  a  properly  constructed  stage 
with  glass  sides,  ....  enclosing  the  apparatus.  The}'  should  be 
so  arranged  that,  while  the  signals  are  at  danger,  the  points  shall 
be  free  to  move ;  that  the  signal-man  shall  be  unable  to  lower  his 
signal  for  the  approach  of  a  train  until  after  he  has  set  the  points  in 
the  proper  direction  for  it  to  pass  ;  that  it  shall  not  be  possible  for 
him  to  exhibit  at  the  same  moment  an}'  two  signals  that  can  lead  to 
a  collision  between  two  trains  ;  and  that  after  having  lowered  his 
signals  to  allow  a  train  to  pass,  he  shall  not  be  able  to  move  his 
points  so  as  to  cause  an  accident,  or  admit  of  a  collision  between 
two  trains.  Every- signal-man  should  be  able  to  see  the  arms  and 
lamps  of  his  home  as  well  as  his  distance  signals,  and  the  working 
of  his  points." 

The  system  devised  by  Messrs.  Saxby  and  Farmer j  of 
London,  and  exhibited  in  the  English  department  at  the 
Exposition,  seems  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of  this 
regulation  and  is  a  great  improvement  upon  all  systems 
yet  used.  It  was  exhibited  at  Paris  in  1867,  and  since  then 
has  been  thoroughly  tested  and  adopted  on  the  best  English 
lines. 

In  order  to  understand  the  application  of  this  apparatus,  it 
may  be  well  to  examine  a  simple  case,  where,  as  in  Figure  3, 
Plate  I.,  a  branch  line  starts  from  a  double  track  main  line. 
The  relations  of  the  tracks  are  easily  comprehended  from  the 
figure.  There  are  switches  at  5  and  6,  with  their  correspond- 
ing home  signals  |  and  |,  and  distance  signals  at  1,  2,  and  9. 
The  machinery  for  operating  these  (Figures  1,  2,  Plate  I.)  is 
contained  in  a  glass  house,  which  is  raised  from  the  ground, 
so  that  the  operator  can  easily  command  a  view  of  the  tracks 
in  every  direction. 

For  the  ease  under  consideration  there  are  nine  levers 
used,  which  are  connected  with  signals  or  switches  as  the 
case  may  be.     Their  uses  are  shown  by  reference  to  the  fol- 


REPORT    OF    MR.    HOWE    ON    RAILWAY    SWITCHES,    ETC.      493 


Plate  I, 


494 


EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 


lowing  index-plate.     The  numbers  denote  the  manipulating 
levers  :  — 


Up-Track  Signals. 

Main  Up. 

Main 
Down. 

Dowk-Teack  Signals. 

Distance. 

Switch. 

Branch 
Up. 

Branch 
Down. 

Switch. 

Branch. 

Main. 

Main. 

Branch. 

Branch. 

Main. 

Distance. 

1                 2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8               9 

Those  from  1  to  4  and  7  to  9  are  to  move  semaphores, 
while  5  and  6  are  for  the  two  switches.  In  Figure  2,  Plate 
I.,  a  cross-section  of  the  stand  of  levers  is  shown  to  one  look- 
ing from  one  end  of  the  cabin.  When  any  signal  is  to  be 
given,  one  or  more  of  the  levers  must  be  pulled  forward  into 
the  positions  represented  by  the  dotted  lines.  The  same 
kind  of  spring-catch  which  is  used  to  hold  the  reversing 
lever  of  a  locomotive  fastens  each  of  these  levers  when  in  its 
proper  position.  The  levers  move  on  a  shaft  under  the  floor. 
Each  one  divides  into  two  arms,  one  of  which,  as  D,  com- 
municates by  rods  to  a  switch  or  semaphore  ;  the  other  car- 
ries a  counterpoise,  E.  There  are  two  sliding  bars  above 
the  floor  and  six  beneath,  which  act  like  the  tumblers  of  a 
lock  when  laid  horizontally,  a  longitudinal  motion  being 
given  them  by  suitable  connections  with  the  manipulating 
levers,  as  at  A,  B,  and  C.  The  f)urpose  of  these  bars  is  to 
prevent  the  movement  of  certain  levers  while  others  are 
drawn  forward.  The  general  principle  upon  which  all  are 
constructed  is  made  evident  by  the  drawing  (Fig.  4,  PI.  I.) 
of  one  of  the  two  bars  above  the  floor.  It  is  evident  that  in 
Figure  4  the  levers  1  and  4  are  locked,  and  2,  3,  5,  6,  7,  8, 
9,  can  be  moved. 

The  operation  of  the  apparatus  is  as  follows  :  When  the 
levers  stand  vertically,  that  is,  in  their  normal  position,  the 
main  up  track  and  the  branch  down  are  open  and  free ;  but 
the  semaphores,  all  stand  at  "danger."  If,  now,  a  train  is 
coming  up  on  the  main  track,  the  signal-man  will  pull  for- 
ward levers  2  and  3,  which  raise  the  semaphores  (at  2,  3, 


REPORT    OF   MR.    HOWE    ON   RAILWAY    SWITCHES,   ETC.      495 

Fig.  3,  PI.  I.),  and  inform  the  eugineer  that  the  way  is  clear. 
By  this  movement,  the  levers  1  and  4,  which  work  the  sig- 
nals for  the  branch  up,  are  locft:ed,  by  means  of  a  sliding 
bar  (Fig.  4,  PI.  I.),  and  cannot  be  moved  until  lever  5  has 
been  pulled,  the  main  track  closed,  the  distance  and  home 
signals  at  2  and  3,  Fig.  3,  placed  at  "  danger,"  and  a  junction 
effected  with  the  branch.  Yet  levers  6,  7,  8,  9  can  be  used, 
because  they  affect  the  main  and  branch  down  lines,  and  do 
not  interfere  at  all  with  the  train  in  question.  The  following 
table  gives  the  combinations  which  allow  the  passage  of  trains 
over  the  four  tracks  : — 


To  allow  a  Train  to  pass  on  the— 

Pull  forward 
Levers — 

— t             .            — 

The  following  levers  will  be  locked : 

1.  Main  Up,  .... 

2.  Main  DoAvn,      .        .        .1 

3.  Branch  Up,        .        .        .1 

4.  Branch  Down,  . 

2,  3. 

G. 

9,  8. 

5. 
1,4. 

9,  7. 

f  5  cannot  be  pulled  forward. 
\  Therefore  1  and  4  are  locked. 

1,  4,  7. 
f5  cannot  be  pulled  forward. 
\  6  cannot  be  pulled  backward. 

2,3,8.* 
r  5  cannot  be  pulled  backward. 
\6  cannot  be  pulled  forward. 
•> 

6  cannot  be  pulled  forward. 

*  At  the  first  sight  one  would  think  that  lever  9  in  this  case  ought  to  be  looked,  but  a  glance 
at  the  track  will  show  that  a  train  comiug  down  the  main  track  would  be  carried  off  on  the 
branch,  since  switch  6  is  in  its  normal  position,  and  there  would  be  no  interference  with  the 
branch  up-track. 


Any  one  of  these  combinations  can  be  arranged  by  one 
man  in  a  few  seconds,  as  it  seems,  without  the  possibility  of 
a  mistake. 

Every  one  has  probably  noticed  the  tendency  of  cars  pass- 
ing over  a  switch  to  lurch  to  one  side  of  the  track,  some- 
times with  sufficient  force  to  move  the  switch  rails  from  their 
position.  Some  way  of  guarding  against  this  contingency  is 
therefore  necessary.  Many  contrivances  are  in  use,  which 
are  under  the  direct  control  of  the  signal-man,  and  which 
therefore  afford  only  a  conditional  security.  The  one  adopted 
by  Messrs.  Saxby  and  Farmer  cannot  be  moved  during  the 
transit  of  the  train.     This  "  safety  locking  apparatus  "  is  rep- 


496 


EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 


resented  in  Plate  II.     A  lever  is  added  to  those  already  in 

Plate  III. 


tlie  signal-cabin,  called  the  "  switch-lock  lever,"  from  which 
motion  is  communicated  to  a  fastening  bolt,  F,  as  is  shown 
in  the  drawing.  This  bolt  slides  in  a  stationary  guide,  and, 
when  the  switch  is  properly  placed,  fits  into  holes  in  the  flat- 
tened portion  of  one  of  the  switch  stay-rods.  A  comparison 
of  the  plan,  and  the  section  upon  the  line  C  T>,  will  serve  to 


EEPORT   OF   MR.    HOWE    ON   RAILWAY   SWITCHES,    ETC.     497 

make  the  details  plain.  There  is  also  a  long  flat  bar,  H,  of 
wrought  iron,  held  alongside  of  the  rail,  supported  by  short 
links,  which  move  around  studs  fastened  to  the  lower  part  of 
the  rail.  These  permit  the  motion  of  the  bar  through  an 
arc  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines.  A  rod,  L,  joins  this 
bar  to  one  of  the  bell-cranks  of  the  locking  apparatus, 
so  that  the  motions  of  the  fastening  bolt  must  be  isochro- 
nous with  those  of  the  bar.  When  the  links  stand  verti- 
cally, the  bar  is  parallel  to  the  surface  of  the  rail,  and 
about  -^  of  an  inch  below  it.  In  the  drawing,  the  fastening 
bolt  is  withdrawn.  When  the  "switch-lock  lever"  is  drawn, 
the  fastening  bolt  will  be  inserted,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
bar  will  rotate  into  the  position  denoted  by  the  dotted  lines. 
If,  now,  a  train  pass  over,  the  rims  of  the  car- wheels  will 
rest  on  this  bar  and  hold  it  down,  so  that,  as  long  as  there  is 
a  wheel  on  the  rail  above  the  bar,  the  bolt  cannot  be  with- 
drawn, and  consequently  the  switch  cannot  be  shifted. 

This  contrivance  is  rapidly  coming  into  use  on  English 
roads,  where  some  such  arrangements  are  required  by  law  on 
new  lines.  The  bar  need  only  be  as  long  as  the  longest  dis- 
tance between  two  car- wheels.  With  their  short  cars,  this 
does  not  make  an  inconvenient  length.  To  extend  between 
the  trucks  of  our  long  cars,  would  require  a  cumbersome  bar, 
and  it  would  be  only  with  great  difficulty  kept  clear  from 
dirt  and  snow,  since  there  is  no  ready  way  of  covering  it. 
However,  if  this  appendage  be  deemed  impracticable,  the 
locking  apparatus  proper  could  be  used,  since  it  adds  an  ele- 
ment of  security,  and  is  simple,  practical,  and  not  likely  to 
get  out  of  repair. 

At  the  Cannon-street  station,  in  London,  perhaps,  there  is 
a  greater  complication,  arising  from  the  number  of  trains  and 
the  narrow  space  in  which  the  tracks  are  located,  than  at  any 
other  similar  place  in  the  world.  The  following  description 
is  taken  from  the  London  Engineer.  It  needs  only  to  be 
explained  that  the  "points"  or  "facing  points"  correspond  to 
our  switches. 

"  The  lines  from  London  Bridge  and  from  Charing  Cross  take 
circular  sweeps  which  bring  them  to  a  junction  near  the  Borough 
Market.     The  lines  so  joined,  as  well  as  others  parallel  to  them,  run. 
63 


498  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

along  the  handsome  bridge  which  connects  the  Surrey  side  with 
Cannon  Street.  Along  the  bridge  run  four  main  lines  and  one 
engine  line  ;  in  all,  five  pairs  of  rails. 

"  Between  and  among  these  straight  lines  curved  lines  meander, 
touching  one  pair  of  rails,  cutting  across  another  pair,  but,  upon 
the  whole,  effecting  junctions  of  each  with  all,  and  so  furnished 
with  points  that  trains  can  be  run  from  an}^  one  line  to  any  other, 
as  may  be  required.  The  five  principal  lines,  as  they  approach  the 
station,  spread  out  into  various  branches,  so  that  altogether,  nine 
lines  enter  the  station,  one  to  each  of  its  eight  platforms,  and  the 
ninth  for  the  accommodation  of  locomotives.  Those  branches  have 
also  their  points,  and  it  results  that  on  the  bridge  and  at  the  station 
there  are  in  all  thirty-two  pairs  of  points,  which  serve  to  guide  loco- 
motives and  trains  to  and  from  the  several  platforms,  and  along  the 
various  routes  which  communicate  with  them.  The  existence  of  all 
these  branches  necessitates  signals,  the  chief  of  which  number 
sixteen  for  up  lines  and  eight  for  down  lines,  besides  five  distant 
signals  and  six  subsidiary  signals  ;  making  a  total  of  thirty-five 
signals.  The  number  of  operations  which  those  points  and  signals 
have  to  conduct  may  be  understood  from  the  fact  that,  at  the  most 
crowded  time  of  the  day,  eighteen  trains  arrive  and  eighteen  depart 
within  the  hour.  The  locomotive  which  brings  a  train  in  is  at  its 
head,  and  consequently  at  the  inner  end  of  the  station.  To  bring 
the  train  out  again,  the  first  locomotive  is  detached  from  the  inner 
end,  and  another  locomotive  is  attached  to  its  outer  end,  and  when 
it  has  drawn  out  the  train,  the  supplanted  locomotive  moves  leis- 
urely out  from  the  platform,  and  waits  quietly  b}^  to  supplant,  in 
its  turn,  a  brother  locomotive,  on  the  arrival  of  a  succeeding  train. 
In  this  way,  for  ever}^  arrival  and  departure  there  are  required  two 
movements  of  locomotives  ;  and  thus,  in  the  crowded  hour,  no  less 
than  108  operations  of  shifting  points  and  signals  have  to  be  per- 
formed, or,  on  the  average,  one  in  every  thirt^'-three  seconds. 

"  To  sum  up,  we  find  that  thirt^'-two  pairs  of  points,  and  thirty- 
five  signals,  some  of  them  two  hundred  yards  distant,  have  to  be 
worked,  sometimes  to  the  extent  ef  108  operations  per  hour,  and 
generally  to  80  or  90." 

To  accomplish  this,  there  is  a  glass  house  erected  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  entrance  to  the  station,  over  the  track, 
containing  thirty-two  switch  and  thirty-five  signal  levers. 
During  the  day,  two  men  are  required  to  tend  them,  and  at 
night  only  one.  In  twenty  seconds,  the  switches  and  signals 
can  be  arranged  to  transfer  a  train  from  one  outside  track  to 


REPORT    OF    MR.    HOWE    ON    RAILWAY    SWITCHES,    ETC.      499 

the  platform  on  the  other  side.  This  is  the  most  complicated 
movement  that  is  required,  and  involves  an  alteration  of 
about  twenty-five  switches  and  signals.  Information  in  re- 
gard to  the  arrival  and  departure  of  trains  is  communicated 
to  the  signal-men  by  telegraph.  The  despatches  are  received 
by  two  instruments,  one  at  each  end  of  the  glass  house. 
One  apparatus  rings  a  bell ;  a  boy  in  attendance  consults  the 
index,  and  immediately  calls  out  the  name  of  the  train  which 
is  to  come  ov.er  the  bridge  into  the  station ;  the  proper 
movements  are  made  by  the  signal-man  as  soon  as  the  train 
appears,  and  it  enters  the  station  without  delay.  The  other 
telegraphic  instrument  is  for  the  general  business  of  the  road. 
All  messages  received  are  noted,  so  that  an  accurate  record 
of  the  movements  of  trains  is  kept.  By  means  of  this  Saxby 
and  Farmer  system,  in  this  compact  arrangement,  the  im- 
mense business  at  this  point  is  transacted  with  speed  and 
safety,  with  astonishing  ease  and  precision.  In  the  old  way, 
with  isolated  switches  and  signals,  at  least  thirty  men  would 
be  needed,  and  the  greatest  care  and  attention  would  have  to 
be  exercised  to  avoid  accidents. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  durability  of  the  mechanism, 
and  what  may  occur  if  any  part  should  break.  Since  the 
normal  position  of  the  semaphores  is  at  "  danger,"  the  break- 
ing of  a  signal-rod  would  either  leave  the  arm  unmoved,  or 
it  would  return  by  its  own  weight  to  the  point  indicating 
"  danger."  Therefore,  no  break  or  derangement  of  the  sema- 
phore mechanism  can  occasion  anything  worse  than  delay. 
As  there  are  a  number  of  rods  and  bell-cranks  used  to  convey 
the  motion  of  the  manipulating  lever  to  the  switch  proper, 
quite  an  expenditure  of  force  is  required  to  overcome  the 
friction.  Now,  if  a  part  give  way,  the  increased  ease  of 
operating  the  lever  would  make  it  evident  to  the  signal-man 
that  something  was  wrong,  and  he  would  therefore  leave  the, 
signals  unchanged.  Here,  again,  no  evil  consequences  would 
result.  If  any  considerable  obstruction  should  prevent  the 
moving  of  the  switch  into  its  proper  position,  not  only  would 
it  be  evident  to  the  signal-man,  but  he  could  not  move  the 
lever  far  enough  to  unlock  the  signal-levers,  even  if  he 
desired  to  do  so.  When  there  is  "  lost  motion"  in  the  con- 
necting tackle,  or  when  dirt  and.  snow  stop  the  switch  before 


500  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

it  comes  into  place,  the  fault,  thougii  not  revealed  by  the 
working  of  the  switch-lever,  will  be  detected  when  the  lock- 
ing apparatus  is  used,  since  that  lever  cannot  be  drawn, 
unless  the  switch  is  correctly  placed. 

In  all  these  contingencies  no  harm  can  result,  since  a  train 
will  always  be  stopped  by  the  "  danger  "  signal  before  reach- 
ing the  switch.  The  apparatus,  in  short,  besides  insuring 
safety  when  it  is  in  order,  is  a  guard  against  any  derange- 
ment in  itself. 

Since  its  adoption  in  England,  but  one  accident  has  occurred, 
out  of  the  many  which  have  been  attributed  to  switches,  at  a 
point  where  this  system  is  in  use.  This  is  important  in  view 
of  the  fact,  that  in  the  (English)  Board  of  Trade  report  on 
accidents  in  the  year  1871,  Captain  Tyler  attributes  the 
majority  to  defective  signal  and  point  arrangements,  or  want  of 
locking  apparatus.  The  Wigan  disaster,  last  summer,  on  the 
London  and  North-western  line,  is  the  exceptional  instance. 
An  excursion  train  passing  over  facing  points  was  divided, 
and  the  majority  of  the  cars  went  off  the  track  entirely,  or 
else  on  to  a  side  track.  The  mechanism  for  moving  the 
points  had  been  inspected  shortly  before,  and  was  found 
unhijured  after  the  accident.  The  points  were  also  found  to 
be  placed  rightly  for  the  transit  of  the  train.  As  near  as 
I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  locking  apparatus  described 
above  had  not  been  applied  at  this  point,  though  in  use  on 
other  parts  of  the  road.  Whether  the  accident  was  caused 
by  the  faulty  action  of  the  switch  mechanism,  or  whether  the 
signal-man  attempted  to  move  the  switch  before  the  train  had 
all  passed  over,  it  is  impossible  to  decide,  before  the  court  of 
investigation  shall  have  published  its  conclusions.  It  seems 
as  if  a  properly  constructed  locking  apparatus  would  have 
fastened  the  switch,  and  would  have  effectually  prevented  any 
change  in  its  position.  The  value  and  necessity  of  some  such 
system  is  unquestionable.  It  is  for  American  engineers  to 
decide  to  what  extent  the  one  described  is  applicable  upon  our 
railroads. 

ELMER  P.  HOWE. 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        501 


AGEICULTUEAL  OBSEKVATIONS  IN  EUEOPE,  1873. 


BY    FRANCIS    H.    APPLETON,    A.M. 


Gkoup  II. 
Part  I. — Agriculture. 

I  left  home  the  26th  of  last  March,  to  pass  six  months 
travelling  in  such  parts  of  Europe  as  my  inclination  turned 
me  to,  but  with  the  previous  determination  to  pass  two 
months  in  Vienna  to  carefully  examine  the  Exposition.  It 
was  my  intention  to  familiarize  myself  with  the  agricultural 
customs  of  those  foreign  countries  through  which  I  passed, 
especially  the  Austrian  Empire,  England,  and  Scotland.  As 
I  also  remained  a  couple  of  months  in  the  two  last-named 
countries,  where  I  kept  very  constantly  on  the  move,  I  was 
enabled  to  examine  not  only  very  many  of  their  most  mag- 
nificent estates,  but  also  a  number  of  their  noted  farms,  two 
of  their  best  agriculture  shows,  the  Koyal  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, and  to  acquaint  myself  with  their  modes  of  operating 
their  estates  and  farms. 

Should  I  restrict  myself  to  simply  reporting  the  result  of 
my  observations  at  Vienna,  I  should  be  confining  myself  too 
narrowly,  as  the  results  of  my  observations  in  a  particular 
case  there  might  have  been  modified  by  what  I  afterwards 
saw  in  England,  or  elsewhere,  so  that  in  this  article  I  can- 
not confine  myself  to  the  Exposition  at  Vienna. 

It  will  not  be  my  object  now  to  restrict  myself  to  opinions 
I  may  myself  have  formed,  and  present  nothing  but  my 
own  ideas,  and  thus  limit  the  field  for  thought.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  shall  try  to  picture  that  part  of  the  agricultural  dis- 
play that  seems  to  me  to  relate  especially  to  the  interests 
of  our  agricultural  community,  advancing  my  own  advice 
only  where  I  feel  it  to  be  what  we  can  adopt  beneficially, 


502  EXPOSITIOX   AT    VIENNA. 

and  what  appears  to  me  conclusively  proved.  That  which, 
however,  is  good  advice  now  may  not  always  hold  good 
for  a  long  period  of  time,  when  improvement  and  advance- 
ment are  as  rapid  as  in  our  own  age. 

After  being  in  Vienna  for  a  short  time,  and  while  one  day 
calling  at  the  office  of  our  Massachusetts  Commission,  I 
was  for  the  first  time  asked  to  write  their  report  on  agri- 
culture, being  told  that  I  must  concentrate  it  into  about  so 
many  pages  of  a  specified  size. 

Now  such  a  perfect  report,  as  I  can  conceive  might  be 
written  on  this  subject  of  agriculture  which,  although  a  sci- 
ence in  itself,  is  at  the  same  time  a  combination  of  almost 
every  other  recognized  science,  cannot  possibly  be  con- 
densed into  the  necessary  space  allotted  me.  I  must, 
therefore,  make  such  selections  as  I  see  fit,  trusting  that 
each  subject  will  attract  the  attention  of  persons  who  will 
be  benefited  thereby. 

On  my  arrival  in  the  Austrian  capital  I  found  that  the 
Exposition  (May  19)  was  still  in  an  extremely  disordered 
condition  in  the  parts  assigned  to  almost  every  nation,  and 
this  applied  equally  well  to  both  agricultural  and  other 
departments.  Austria  herself  had  then  the  outward  appear- 
ance of  completeness,  and  certainly  seemed  to  be  in  the  best 
order  generally,  but  even  here  new  articles  were  in  a  quiet 
way  being  daily  placed  on  exhibition. 

Going,  as  I  first  did,  to  see  what  Austria  could  show,  and 
this  being  what  one  would  naturally  first  inquire  after,  I  wiU 
speak  of  what  she  exhibited  agriculturally. 

The  Agricultural  Ministry 
(Ackerbau  Ministerium)  was  represented  by  a  building  of 
tasteful  exterior,  standing  at  the  north-eastern  corner  of  the 
Industrial  Palace  (see  plan  of  grounds) .  It  contained  col- 
lections of  a  large  variety  of  models,  representing  a  variety 
of  agricultural  operations  as  well  as  implements,  books, 
charts,  the  tobacco  industry,  collections  showing  the  methods 
of  applying  chemistry  to  agriculture,  exhibitions  of  experi- 
ments in  connection  with  vine-culture,  an  historical  collection 
of  ploughs  used  in  Austria,  with  colored  illustrations  of 
those  implements  and  the  animals  attached  to  them.     The 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        503 

books  contain  chiefly  a  minute  description  of  the  various 
branches  of  agriculture  practised  in  Austria,  and  have  been 
prepared  with  the  view  of  showing  the  public  the  progress 
and  advancement  of  Austrian  agriculture. 

We  find  here  descriptive  charts,  showing  how  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  different  crops,  including  the  vine,  is  distributed 
over  the  Austrian  Empire,  etc. 

This,  together  with  a  large  variety  of  other  objects  of  inter- 
est, made  up  the  display.  Most  of  these  were  taken  from 
the  Agricultural  College  and  School  museums,  or  were  made 
at  those  institutions  especially  for  the  occasion,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  Exposition  were  either  to  be  returned  to  the 
places  whence  they  were  taken,  or  be  added  to  the  collec- 
tions of  the  institutions  that  sent  them.     In  the 

Agricultural  Halls, 
while  examining  the  very  extensive  displays  of  implements 
of  all  sizes,  and  for  many  purposes,  I   found  only  a  very 
few  that  I  shall  speak  of  as  suggesting  novelties  or  useful 
ideas  for  our  Commonwealth. 

Almost  all  implements  were  of  English  patterns,  or  similar 
to  them ;  the  English  manufacturers  having  some  extensive 
factories  in  different  parts  of  Europe.  These  were  universally 
much  heavier  than  we  could  use  to  advantage,  but,  knowing 
the  unintelligent  laborers  that  are  intrusted  with  the  care  of 
implements  in  Europe,  I  felt  that  there  was  a  necessity  for 
their  being  strong  and  durable,  and  such  as  could  only  be 
made  of  considerably  greater  weight  than  our  own. 

There  is  certainly,  however,  a  possibility,  in  some  cases, 
that  the  usefulness  of  an  implement  can  be  increased  only  by 
additions  which  necessarily  increase  its  weight. 

I  know  of  cases  where  our  light  American  ploughs,  which 
are  highly  esteemed  by  us,  have  been  bought  by  English 
farmers,  but  which  were  thought  very  little  of  by  them.  On 
the  other  hand,  while  the  English  plough  is  greatly  prized  by 
many  Canada  farmers,  we  in  the  States  prefer  not  to  use 
them.  I  am  sure  the  true  solution  of  this  difference  of 
opinion  has  not  been  reached. 

Steam-ploughing  is  much  used  in  England  and  on  the  con- 
tinent, and  possesses  very  great  advantages  over  ploughing 


504  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

witli  cattle,  such  as  the  absence  of  much  constant  trampling 
of  the  soil  by  the  feet  of  cattle,  the  more  regular  and 
thorough  work  accomplished,  the  shorter  time  occupied  in 
preparing  the  land,  and  other  lesser  advantages.  The 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  adoption  of  steam-ploughing 
are  chiefly  the  high  cost  of  the  necessary  implements  and 
the  consideration  that  no  one  should  be  intrusted  with  the 
responsibility  of  superintending  the  working  of  these  imple- 
ments who  does  not  know  every  particular  detail  of  their 
mechanism,  and  who  cannot  instantly  detect  the  cause  of  any 
breakage  or  imperfection  in  their  working. 

The  sooner  the  constant  trampling  of  cattle,  incident  to 
preparing  our  soil  for  crops,  can  be  done  away  with,  and 
the  improved  methods  of  working  the  land  be  established, 
the  sooner  will  a  great  advancement  in  agriculture  have 
been  made. 

Our  home-made  implements  are  much  better  adapted  to 
our  needs  than  foreign  ones  ;  but,  while  foreign  manufacturers 
may  be  able  to  learn  and  profit  by  our  displays  in  the  Agri- 
cultural Halls,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1876,  I  trust  that  we  shall 
also  be  able  to  learn  much  from  similar  displays  of  foreigners. 

A  Bohemian  Farm. 

In  order  to  give  an  instructive  account  of  some  of  the 
most  improved  systems  of  farming,  as  carried  on  in  the 
Austrian  Empire,  I  cannot  do  so  more  truthfully  than  by 
giving  those  extracts  from  the  report  of  one  of  her  most 
successful  farmers,  which  relate  to  my  subject  and  which  are 
thoroughly  substantiated,  as  being  the  basis  of  his  successful 
farming,  by  the  financial  exhibit  which  ends  his  report. 

"While  at  Vienna,  through  the  kindness  of  the  Austrian 
Secretary  of  the  Agricultural  Ministry,  an  invitation  to  visit 
the  estate  of  Mr.  Franz  Horsky,  at  Kolin,  in  Bohemia,  in 
company  with  the  Agricultural  Jury  of  the  Exposition,  was 
secured  for  me,  and  I  passed  a  most  interesting  day  viewing 
the  results  of  a  knowledge  acquired  by  a  life  devoted  to 
agricultural  study  and  practical  work. 

The  report  from  which  my  extracts  are  taken  was  prepared 
by  Mr.  Horsky,  in  response  to  a  request  from  the  Directors 
of  the  Exposition,    and  contains  a  description  of  the  com- 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        505 

mencement  of  his  study  and  labors,  and  his  successive  steps 
onward,  illustrated  by  explanatory  and  statistical  tables,  also 
plans  and  drawings  ;  a  description  of  the  domain  of  Kolin  as 
a  swamp,  and  trausformationin  to  a  productive  sugar-planta- 
tion, with  vineyards,  trout-breeding  ponds,  facilities  for  the 
transportation  of  earth  by  an  endless  wire-rope  and  steam 
(wire-tramways),  of  methods  of  planting  trees,  etc. 

Mr.  Horsky's  report  was  translated  for  me  by  N.  L. 
Derby,  A.  M.,  whose  excellent  knowledge  of  the  German 
language  should  be  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  its  correctness. 
I  visited  the  estate  of  Kolin  in  company  with  Mr.  Derby,  and 
not  being  enough  of  a  German  scholar  to  read  the  language, 
I  felt  sure,  from  my  observations,  of  finding  much  instructive 
matter  in  the  report.  Mr.  Derby  then  consented  to  translate 
it,  and  I  have  found  in  it  a  document  of  much  interest. 

As  to  whether  and  to  what  extent  Mr.  Horsky  has  based 
his  success  on  correct  principles,  and  has  recognized  and 
utilized  improvements,  can  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  results 
he  has  achieved. 

The  more  usual  varieties  of  grain  and  vegetables  were 
exhibited  at  his  estate,  showing  the  richness  and  length  of 
their  roots,  and  the  harmfulness  of  planting  the  seed  more 
than  half  an  inch  before  the  surface  of  the  soil,  or  in  too  great 
quantity  at  one  point.  This  matter  was  studied  by  him  in 
the  year  1854,  and  is  regarded  by  him  as  of  great  importance. 

In  his  preface,  he  desires  that  his  readers,  in  judging  of  his 
report,  will  reflect  that  its  author  is  no  wielder  of  the  pen, 
but  rather  a  man  of  action  and  a  practical  worker. 

Let  me  here  urge,  as  I  have  more  than  once  done  at  a 
previous  time,  that  our  men  of  action  and  practical  workers, 
of  whom  we  have  a  much  larger  per  cent,  than  any  other 
nation,  and  who  may  or  may  not  be  able  with  Mr.  Horsky  to 
say  that  they  are  not  wielders  of  the  pen,  will  more  frequently 
give  their  experience  to  the  public  in  print,  either  in  the 
form  of  essays  to  their  county  agricultural  societies,  the  news 
and  agricultural  papers,  or  in  other  ways.  Let  them  realize 
that  to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  theorist,  we  must  look  to 
ascertain  the  true  means  of  success  in  any  undertaking. 

Mr.  Horsky  well  says  that  if  he  has  tried  to  direct  the  pen, 
it  has  been  to  impart  true  and  useful  information,  and  not  to 

64 


506  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

shine  as  an  author.  He  excuses  himself  for  repetition  by- 
quoting  two  maxims — "  drops  of  water  wear  a  stone  away, 
not  by  their  weight  or  size,  but  by  repeated  blows,"  and 
"  the  truth  can  never  be  repeated  enough,  for  by  repetition 
alone  it  impresses." 

Mr.  Horsky  was  born  29th  September,  1801,  and  his  father 
was  without  property.  The  report  contains  an  interesting 
account  of  his  life,  which  I  shall  here  very  greatly  condense, 
expecting  later  to  place  it  before  the  public  in  full.  He  was 
instructed  in  a  private  school,  passed  three  years  in  the  office 
of  a  large  estate  of  a  prince,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
occupied  in  practical  agriculture,  having  two  farms  under  his 
charge  ;  was  later  a  special  student  in  an  agricultural  college 
for  three  years,  where  he  graduated  with  high  honors.  From 
that  time  he  was  for  a  number  of  years  an  executive  officer  of 
high,  and  finally  of  the  highest  rank,  on  various  estates  of  the 
nobility,  his  services  being  much  sought  after. 

When,  in  1829,  he  was  made  director  of  a  princely  estate, 
he  first  began  his  experiments  on  the  rotation  of  crops ,  which 
he  later  said  "is  an  essential  part  of  successful  agriculture." 

He  says  : — 

"  The  result  of  my  labors  for  six  ye&vs  on  the  estate  of  Kornhaus, 
as  compared  with  those  of  the  previous  period,  are  thus  shown  : — 

Whole  return 
in  money  (gold) . 

Yield  of  r^-e  on  the  average  per  acre,  taking  the  whole  area : 
Average  of  the  years  from  1792  to  1798, 14.90  bushels,  $14,630 
Average  of  the  years  from  1822  to  1828,  before  my 

management,  10.38  bushels,  ....       7,070 

In  1834,  the  sixth  year  of  m}^  management,  11.80  bush.,     14,140  " 

This  shows  us  the  products  of  land,  when  in  good  condition 
before  it  has  been  exhausted,  the  products  after  it  has  been 
exhausted,  and  finally  that  the  application  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge to  agriculture,  can  regain  much  that  ignorance  has  lost, 
and  that,  although  it  is  a  slow  and  difficult  task  to  restore 
to  nature  what  man  has  taken  from  it,  we  are  thus  constantly 
doing  a  most  successful  and  noble  work. 

As  early  as  1835,  Mr.  Horsky  adopted  the  system  of  "ro- 
tation of  crops,"  and  to  this  day  adheres  to  that  same  practice, 
thus  proving  it  to  be  indispensable. 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        507 

In  reclaiming  old  land,  lie  began  by  improving  it  by  proper 
cultivation  and  draining,  so  as  to  thus  provide  for  a  larger 
amount  and  better  quality  of  fodder,  and  afterwards  turned 
Ms  attention  to  the  introduction  and  propagation  of  improved 
races  of  cattle.  These  improved  cattle  were  yellow  and  white 
Austrian  and  Styrian  varieties,  and  he  says  that  he  "  invigor- 
ated the  stock  by  introducing  pure-blooded  bulls  and  heifers, 
sometimes  every  year,  at  other  times  every  other  year." 

It  is  part  of  his  system  to  sell  no  crops  from  his  estate 
except  in  a  manufactured  condition.  To  accomplish  this, 
breweries,  sugar-factories,  oil-factories,  etc.,  were  built  on 
the  several  estates  with  successful  results. 

In  the  ninth  year  after  his  directorship  of  Libejic,  he  says, 
"  the  productive  power  of  the  whole  cultivated  area,  taking 
the  average  per  acre,  had  gradually  risen,  after  subtracting 
the  seed  value,  to  the  amount  of  29.7  bushels  estimated  in 
rye,  whilst  the  average  per  acre  for  the  fifteen  years,  from 
1821-1835  yielded  by  the  three-field  system,  was  only  ten 
bushels,  estimated  in  rye.  I  was  induced  by  these  remark- 
able results  to  discourage  the  three-field  system,  and  above 
all  free-farming,  where  no  rule  at  all  is  followed,  and  to 
recommend  rotation  of  crops  as  the  very  best  of  all  systems." 

The  accompanying  Table  A  will  be  found  interesting  and 
instructive.  The  yield  and  profits  resulting  from  Mr.  Horsky's 
instrumentality,  on  the  several  estates  named,  were  remark- 
ably large,  we  are  told,  compared  with  those  given  by  the 
former  system,  the  average  of  several  years  being  taken. 
The  table  is  taken  from  Mr.  Horsky's  work,  "  The  General 
Introduction  of  the  Rotation  of  Crops." 

I  hope  to  be  able,  at  no  very  distant  date,  to  secure  a  copy 
of  this  work  and  place  it  before  the  public  in  English. 

As  regards  the  manner  in  which  the  yield  in  rye  is  com- 
puted, the  computation  adopted  by  Mr.  Horsky  seems  to  be 
the  one  generally  recognized  by  his  country.  I  have  not  yet 
examined  it,  but  as  it  is  contained  in  his  work  just  referred 
to,  I  shall  expect  to  examine  it  later. 

Up  to  the  present  year,  Mr.  Horsky  says  that  he  has  sys- 
tematized 225  farms  situated  in  all  parts  of  Bohemia,  Moravia, 
Silesia,  Styria,  Hungary,  etc. 


508  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

A  Proprietor  of  the  Imperial  Estate  of  KoUn,  luith  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  former  and  present  condition  of  the  same. 

It  was  only  through  full  confidence  in  my  practical  experi- 
ence gained  in  agricultural  labors  continued  without  pause 
for  fifty  years,  and  especially  in  the  reorganization  of  many 
large  and  small  estates,  that  I  was  induced  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
one  years  to  purchase  such  a  worn-out  piece  of  property  as 
the  estate  of  Kolin.     It  cost  me  in  the  year  1862,  $217,000. 

The  only  buildings  belonging  to  the  estate  at  the  time, 
either  for  farming  purposes  or  for  dwellings,  were  the  Castle 
in  the  city  of  Kolin,  of  which  the  larger  portion  was  occupied 
by  the  imperial  and  royal  district  officials,  a  wing  alone 
remaining  for  the  use  of  the  proprietor,  then  the  brewery 
close  at  hand,  a  large  granary  and  a  barn  together,  five  hunt- 
ers' lodges  in  Bejchor,  Lzowitz,  Baczow,  Hradisko  and  Saan, 
and  a  saw-mill  at  Bejchor  with  a  dwelling  for  the  machinist. 
I  had  the  wing  of  the  Castle  fitted  for  my  use  and  also  built 
the  necessary  stables  and  carriage-houses.  As  the  property 
which  I  wished  to  release  from  the  tenants  lay  on  the  right 
or  opposite  bank  of  the  Elbe,  I  had  the  forester's  lodge  at 
Bejchor  transformed  into  a  dwelling  for  myself,  and  added 
stables  and  carriage-houses.  Here  I  built  later  the  Castle  of 
Horskyfeld. 

About  the  year  1770,  the  Raab  system  had  become  very 
popular  in  Bohemia.  This  consisted  in  letting  all  the  build- 
ings and  farms  on  the  large  estates  for  a  long  period  and 
permitting  settlements  and  villages  to  gradually  grow  upon 
them,  the  proprietor  retaining  only  the  forests,  ponds  and 
pastures  in  his  own  hands.  The  ponds  were  set  dry  by  cut- 
ting through  their  dams  and  then  let  out  with  the  pastures  in 
small  lots  of  one  to  two  acres  without  provision  for  drainage, 
snow,  or  spring-water.  They  were  therefore  never  built 
upon  and  generally  degenerated  into  swamp  and  waste  land. 
They  were  also  entirely  robbed  of  their  fertility,  since  most 
of  the  tenants  were  simply  squatters,  and  on  ten,  twenty  or 
forty  acres  of  land  had  only  a  couple  of  wretched  cows  for 
ploughing  and  producing  manure ;  nevertheless  they  con- 
tinued to  sow  until  little  or  nothing  would  grow.  In  this 
condition  the  land  was  put  to  grass,  but  could  of  course  pro- 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        509 

duce  but  little  of  this,  and  of  a  poor  quality.  Under  the 
circumstances  it  was  natural  that  the  tenant  could  not  meet 
his  rent,  although  it  was  very  small,  $2.00,  $1.00,  or  as  little 
even  as  fifty  cents  per  acre.  At  the  time  of  my  purchasing 
the  land  they  were  about  $5,600  in  arrear,  and  a  year  later 
$2,170  in  my  own  debt. 

The  question,  therefore,  was  how  to  raise  the  yield  and 
profits  of  these  tracts,  and  to  insure  them  permanently. 

This  was  only  to  be  effected  by  bringing  to  a  close  the 
leases  of  the  small  lots,  which  were  to  expire  at  four  different 
periods,  and  by  taking  up  their  cultivation  myself. 

Since  the  fields,  meadows  and  pastures  consisted  princi- 
pally of  drift  sand  and  were  exposed  to  inundations,  while 
portions  were  swampy,  it  was  necessary  to  shelter  them  from 
overflow,  drain  them  aud  improve  the  soil  by  the  addition  of 
clayey  loam  or  sand.  It  was  also  desirable  to  establish  five 
new  farms  and  put  them  in  running  order.  The  immensity 
of  this  task  and  the  great  expenses  necessarily  to  be  incurred 
called  for  the  most  careful  consideration.  I  had  to  determine 
as  to  whether  the  gain  by  the  undertaking  would  probably 
be  sufficient  to  cover  the  rent  previously  paid  and  the  inter- 
est on  the  money  expended  for  improvements,  for  erecting 
buildings  and  for  stocking  the  farms  ;  and  whether  after  this 
there  would  be  a  residue  over  all. 

Consideration  showed  me  the  impossibility  of  this  if  I 
made  the  mistake  of  constructing  the  farm  buildings  accord- 
ing to  previous  custom ; — if  I  made  everything,  so  to  speak, 
bomb-proof  and  magnificent,  and  conducted  my  cultivation 
in  the  same  manner.  The  cost  of  such  buildings,  as  I  know 
from  experience,  is  often  so  great  that  the  interest  on  the 
sum  expended  is  more  than  the  previous  rent  of  the  land 
or  its  yield  in  the  hands  of  the  proprietor.  This  is  partly 
because  under  the  ordinary  systems  of  agriculture  neither  the 
present  high  taxes  nor  the  parish  or  district  dues,  nor  the 
pay  of  artisans  or  servants  can  be  met.  Even  where  the 
interest  on  the  capital  does  not  equal  the  yield  it  is  ever  a 
large  part  of  it. 

To  excuse  the  great  expense  of  such  buildings  it  is  custom- 
ary to  speak  of  their  permanency,  of  the  small  outlay 
required  for  repairs,  and  on  the  other  hand  of  the  constant 
renovation  called  for  by  lighter  and  cheaper  buildings. 


510  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

However,  this  should  mislead  no  one  nor  frighten  him 
from  his  undertaking ;  for  the  difference  between  the  cost  of 
a  massive  and  of  a  lighter  structure  is  very  apparent,  and  the 
saving  in  the  latter  great  and  important. 

The  saving  invested  at  five  per  cent,  doubles  at  compound 
interest  once  in  fourteen  years.  If  we  can,  therefore,  spare 
only  a  third  or  a  half  of  the  building  expenses,  and  invest 
them,  we  have  in  fourteen  years  its  double  and  in  twenty- 
eight  years  its  quadruple.  With  this  great  sum  repairs  can 
certainly  be  made,  and  in  fact  the  whole  building  be  recon- 
structed every  fourteen  years  without  touching  the  sum 
originally  invested.  At  the  rate  of  six  per  cent.,  which  is 
now  usual,  the  advantages  of  this  method  are  still  greater. 

Any  one,  therefore,  who  is  under  the  necessity  that  I  was 
at  this  time  of  erecting  new  farm  buildings,  is  recommended 
most  strongly  to  select  some  simple  and  cheap,  yet  durable 
form  of  construction. 

I  have  always  striven  on  my  five  farms  for  the  greatest 
saving  of  building  capital  possible,  but  at  the  same  time  for 
the  erection  of  practical  and  convenient  structures.  I  have 
constructed  baildings  varying  from  the  greatest  solidity  to 
the  utmost  lightness,  as  their  location  itself  varied.  The 
difference  of  their  cost  was  very  important. 

The  costs  of  my  cattle-sheds  per  square  foot  of  surface 
were,  for  instance  : 

On  the  farm  of  Franzenshof,  where  the  walls  to  the  roof 
were  entirely  of  stone,  having  in  some  cases  an  attic  story, 
while  the  ground  story  is  vaulted  with  brick  in  spans  of 
thirty-five  feet  without  supporting  pillars,  the  roof  being 
covered  with  tarred  paper,  $1.12. 

On  the  farm  of  Carolinenhof :  Here  the  floor  and  walls 
rest  on  a  foundation  of  stone,  the  walls  in  the  ground-floor 
and  attic  are  of  bricks,  made  on  the  spot,  the  ceiling  over  the 
ground-floor  is  vaulted  in  Belgian  manner  with  bricks  rising 
from  horizontal  and  parallel  joints  supported  by  posts.  The 
roof  is  covered  with  tarred  paper,  ninety-one  cents. 

On  the  farm  of  Hajka :  Here  the  foundations  and  base  are 
of  stone,  the  remaining  walls  to  the  roof  are  of  air-dried 
bricks,  the  ceiling  over  the  ground-floor  is  made  of  birch 
trunks,  and  the  roof  is  of  straw,  eighty-four  cents. 


REPORT  OF  BIR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        511 

On  the  Eleanorenhof  farm  :  The  foundations  and  base  are 
of  stone.  The  rest  of  the  walls  to  the  roof  are  of  pise 
(rammed  earth) .  There  is  no  attic  story.  The  ceiling  over 
the  ground-floor  is  of  birch  trunks  and  the  roof  of  straw. 
The  building  expenses  were  per  foot  only  forty-five  cents. 

The  fifth  farm  is  in  the  suburb  of  Kolin  called  Keisersdorf, 
and  contains  the  great  grain-magazine,  with  adjoining  sheds, 
which  were  turned  into  cattle-sheds,  and  a  small  collection  of 
farm-buildings  which  I  purchased. 

The  internal  arrangement  of  the  stables  with  straw  roofs 
is  in  all  cases  the  same,  their  ventilation  is  in  all  cases  care- 
fully provided  for,  the  mangers  and  water-troughs  are  made 
vertically  movable  and  the  floor  of  the  stalls  is  made  eighteen 
inches  deeper  than  that  of  the  remainder  of  the  building, 
to  allow  the  accumulation  of  the  manure.  The  floors  are  of 
beton  and  are  impervious  to  moisture. 

Forty-five  cents  per  square  foot  seemed  to  me  still  too 
much  to  pay  for  buildings  on  the  Eleanorenhof  farm,  and  I 
made  an  attempt  to  reduce  the  cost  yet  further.  The  light 
straw-huts  built  on  the  farm  of  Caroliuenhof  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  brick-drying,  had  been  used  in  winter  merely 
through  the  lack  of  other  room,  as  shelter  for  oxen.  This 
suggested  to  me  the  idea  of  building  an  ox-shed  in  the  same 
manner.  This  was  done  in  January,  1868,  but  to  provide 
against  decay  the  roof  was  not  brought  into  direct  contact 
with  the  ground.  The  frame  of  the  roof,  some  forty  feet  in 
width,  is  supported  by  wall-plates,  and  in  the  interior  by 
posts  resting  on  flat  stones  laid  upon  the  ground  without 
any  underground  masonry.  A  ditch,  one  and  one-half  to 
two  feet  in  depth,  is  dug  around  the  building  to  lead  off  the 
snow-water  and  rain. 

The  earth  dug  out  from  this  was  heaped  against  the  open- 
ing under  the  eaves,  and  against  the  wall-plates,  to  keep  out 
draughts  of  air ;  planks  being  previously  placed  before  the 
wall-plates  to  prevent  direct  contact  of  the  earth,  as,  in  the 
case  of  decay,  these  planks  are  much  easier  to  replace  than 
the  framework. 

The  cattle  stand  along  the  middle  in  two  rows,  and  be- 
tween them  and  the  walls  two  wide  passages  are  left.  At  the 
ends  of  the  building  are  located  the  rooms  for  preparing  the 
fodder,  and  for  the  use  of  the  laborers. 


512  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

This  shed,  like  the  others,  is  arranged  for  the  accumulation 
of  manure  in  the  stalls ;  the  floor  is  therefore  made  impervi- 
ous to  moisture  by  a  layer  of  clay ;  the  mangers  move  at 
will,  up  and  down ;  at  the  ridge  of  the  roof  are  openings  with 
valves  for  ventilation. 

The  ends  of  the  building  are  covered  with  double  boarding, 
filled  out  with  moss ;  they  are  provided  with  sliding  doors, 
and  over  them  windows.  It  is  thus  possible,  as  in  a  sheep- 
pen,  to  drive  through  and  load  the  dung  directly  into  the 
wagons.  The  straw  thatch  must  be  at  least  twelve  inches 
thick.  This  style  of  shed  is  as  convenient  as  any  other,  and 
cost  originally  seventeen  cents  per  square  foot.  Including 
the  boarding  afterwards  added  for  greater  warmth,  the  whole 
cost  reached  about  twenty-three  cents. 

This,  as  well  as  the  facility  with  which  this  building  can  be 
transported,  renders  it  very  valuable.  A  shed  built  in  the 
same  manner,  with  a  clear  width  of  only  sixteen  or  seventeen 
feet  internally,  without  supporting  posts,  and  with  a  light 
roof,  would  be  well  adapted  for  laborers  who  have  come  from 
a  distance  to  the  grain,  potato,  and  beet  harvests,  and  cannot 
be  elsewhere  accommodated.  I  saved  also  a  great  deal  in 
building  expenses  by  extending  the  roofs  of  the  sheds  on  both 
sides  on  the  Eleanorenhof  farm ;  in  fact,  on  all  four  as  far  as 
their  slope  would  allow.  Thus  I  procured  space  cheaply  for 
my  sowers,  machines,  and  the  smaller  farm-tools,  as  well  as  for 
the  storage  and  preparation  of  artificial  manure.  The  roofs 
thus  extended  were  supported  on  posts  ;  the  doors  were  made 
to  slide,  thus  saving  room  and  wear.  On  the  Eleanorenhof 
farm  the  corn-sheds  were  made  entirely  of  wood  and  parti- 
tioned ofi",  whilst  a  portion  of  the  cattle-sheds  were  left  with- 
out partitions,  for  the  laborers  to  sleep  and  eat  in,  and  for 
the  construction  of  tools.  In  this  way  the  cattle  could  be 
constantly  and  easily  cared  for. 

The  greatest  saving,  however,  in  the  expenses  of  building 
and  keeping  a  costly  inventory  of  stock,  was  made  by  the 
application  of  my  principle  of  "No  more  dung-heaps,  no 
more  reservoirs  or  pumps  for  urine."  This  I  applied  as  early 
as  the  year  1844,  in  the  common  cattle-sheds  then  existing 
on  various  estates  under  my  care.  My  own  sheds  were  ex- 
pressly built  for  the  collection  of  the  manure  in  the  stalls. 


EEPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        513 

and  these  expensive  contrivances,  as  well  as  the  pipes  for 
leading  away  the  urine,  were  avoided.  From  the  external 
appearance  of  my  farms  no  one  would  know  that  cattle  were 
present  there. 

In  addition  to  this  my  method  offers  still  greater  advan- 
tage. Only  half  as  much  live-stock,  and  consequently  half 
as  much  shed  room,  is  required  as  by  the  old  process. 

The  manure  remains  under  the  cattle  as  long  as  the  space 
at  hand  admits,  or  until  it  is  required  for  use.  It  often 
reaches  a  height  of  five  feet  in  fifteen  weeks.  The  fluid  ex- 
crement, which  contains  as  much  fertilizing  matter  as  the 
solid,  soaks  into  the  latter,  and  the  whole  is  then  trampled 
by  the  cattle  and  preserved  from  the  contact  of  the  air  and 
from  decay.  The  gases  which  are  developed  by  decay  are 
thus  retained  until  the  manure  is  spread  on  the  fields.  By 
the  usual  treatment  in  dung-hills,  fermentation  sets  in  in 
four  to  six  weeks,  and  the  urine  collected  in  reservoirs  be- 
comes putrid  in  warm  weather  at  the  end  of  twenty-four 
hours,  thus  losing  the  greater  part  of  its  value. 

In  the  way  described,  manure  is  produced  containing  one 
hundred  per  cent,  more  fertilizing  matter  than  by  the  ordi- 
nary process  ;  and  since  thus  from  half  the  quantity  of  live- 
stock the  same  amount  is  ol)tained  as  previously,  only  half 
the  amount  of  shed  room  is  required,  and  this  again  reduces 
the  building  expenses  to  a  very  great  extent. 

There  is  the  same  saving,  of  course,  on  the  capital  ex- 
pended for  live-stock,  for  fodder  and  for  labor,  these  being 
also  reduced  by  one-half.  This  applies  also  to  the  amount 
of  straw  required. 

The  latter  is  cut  into  lengths  of  five  or  six  inches  to  allow 
of  its  easily  mixing  with  the  manure  and  absorbing  the  fluids. 
This  also  assists  in  removing  the  mass  from  the  stalls,  and  in 
spreading  it,  and  in  working  it  into  the  soil.  The  collection 
of  the  manure  in  the  sheds  causes  no  bad  smell,  and  is  not 
at  all  injurious  to  the  health  of  the  cattle.  This  was  clearly 
shown  in  1854,  when  my  process  was  introduced  on  the 
estates  then  under  my  care,  so  that  it  soon  after  became  cus- 
tomary even  in  the  military  stables.  Its  convenience  and 
value  can  be  considered  as  practically  proved  by  the  fact  that 
I  have  made  use  of  it  in  all  the  cattle-sheds  and  stables  on  my 

65 


514  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

five  farms  for  eight  years,  and  with  the  best  results.     This 
would  seem  sufl[icient  to  remove  all  doubt  and  disbelief. 

All  the  buildings  on  my  farms  are  capable  of  extension  to 
double  their  present  size  if  desired. 

The  farms  are  fenced  in  entirely  by  heaps  of  brush.  Haw- 
thorn has  been  set  out  along  these  and  will  eventually  take 
their  place.  On  the  farm  of  Franzenshof,  the  barns,  store- 
houses for  fodder  and  supplies,  and  the  walls  around  the 
poultry-yard,  were  constructed  of  pise,  or  rammed  earth,  pre- 
vious to  the  year  1865.  Also  a  green-house  was  built  near 
the  Castle  of  Horskyfeld,  at  the  same  time,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  this  material ;  then,  in  1866,  a  cattle-shed  on  the  farm 
of  Eleanorenhof ;  in  1867,  a  cattle-shed  at  Franzenshof;  in 
1868,  a  stable  for  fifteen  horses,  adjacent  to  the  Castle  of 
Horskyfeld,  and,  in  1872,  a  dwelling-house  for  the  laborers 
from  a  distance,  near  the  village  of  Freudenck,  on  the  farm 
of  Carolinenhof. 

This  rammed  earth  dries  and  settles  very  slowly,  and  on 
this  account  it  is  well  to  postpone  plastering  it  for  a  year. 
Otherwise,  the  plaster  dries  first  and  becomes  blistered  as 
the  earth  settles.     It  has  then  to  be  removed  and  renewed. 

The  rammed  earthwork  can  be  prevented  from  settling 
and  cracking  to  a  great  extent  by  avoiding  the  use  of  clay  in 
its  construction,  and  employing  only  earthy  matter  just  moist 
enough  to  admit  of  thorough  ramming.  If  this  can  be  found 
in  a  natural  condition,  it  is  much  better  than  such  earth  as 
requires  artificial  moistening  before  using.  The  latter  can 
never  give  such  uniform  and  satisfactory  results. 

With  practised  laborers,  the  expense  of  a  cubic  yard  of 
wall  made  of  this  rammed  earth,  without  plastering,  should 
not  exceed  thirty-two  cents.  My  experience  has  shown  that, 
for  raising  one  klafter  of  earth  (8.86  cubic  yards),  loading  it 
into  wheelbarrows  and  transporting  it  a  distance  of  two  hun- 
dred feet,  it  is  necessary  to  employ  four  laborers  per  day ;  for 
transporting  it  to  the  staging,  two  laborers  per  day ;  for  ram- 
ming it  between  boards  in  layers  of  six  inches,  five  laborers 
per  day;  i.  e.,  in  all,  for  8.86  English  cubic  yards,  eleven 
laborers  per  day;  or,  per  one  English  yard,  1.2  laborers  per 
day ;  these  being  paid  fourteen  to  nineteen  cents  per  day 
each,  the  cost  is  eighteen  to  twenty-three  cents. 


REPORT  OF  ME.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        515 

The  employment  of  more  laborers  is  utterly  unnecessaiy, 
and  shows  either  shiftlessness  and  laziness  on  their  part,  or 
neoflect  on  that  of  their  overseer. 

Walls  of  rammed  earth  are  very  durable,  and,  besides 
their  cheapness,  ofier  the  advantage  of  remaining  dry,  when 
built  on  a  good  masonry  foundation.  They  also,  from  their 
non-condacting  power,  keep  out  the  heat  in  summer  and  the 
cold  in  winter.  They  are,  however,  by  no  means  new,  but 
only  unusual  in  Bohemia.  In  other  countries  they  have  been 
used  for  a  long  time. 

Their  introduction  is  to  be  especially  recommended  in 
those  districts  in  which  stone  and  bricks  are  dear,  or  where 
their  transport  involves  too  great  expense,  or  where  it  is 
wished  to  save  as  much  as  possible  in  building  expenses.  In 
these  cases  the  cheap  roofing  with  tarred  paper  is  advisable, 
when  straw  cannot  be  used,  which  is  by  all  means  the  best 
material  for  farm-buildings. 

The  last  of  my  farm-buildings  w^as  the  grain-magazine 
erected  in  American  style  near  Franzeushof  in  1868. 

There  is  a  mill  also  in  this  magazine  for  grinding  small 
quantities  of  grain  for  my  own  use  and  that  of  the  cattle. 
This  was  built  to  do  away  with  the  necessity  of  hauling  to 
and  from  the  existing  mill,  and  of  the  inspection  attending 
grinding.     It  is  driven  by  a  fixed  engine. 

The  brewery  at  Kolin  was  provided  in  the  year  1863  with 
the  apparatus  necessary  for  the  production  of  780,000  gal- 
lons. This  consisted  of  boilers,  coolers  and  an  English  malt- 
kiln.  Cellars  were  also  made  for  fermentation  for  beer,  ice 
and  storing.  In  the  year  1872  it  was  adapted  to  working  by 
machinery. 

It  was  not  until  I  had  completed  all  the  farm-buildings  and 
the  brewery  that  I  resolved  to  make  my  dwelling  in  the 
former  forester's  house  at  Bejchor  more  convenient  and 
agreeable.  By  successive  additions  the  Castle  of  Horsky- 
feld  arose  upon  the  spot,  with  stables,  carriage-houses  and 
buildings  for  employes ;  and  finally  the  governmental  tel- 
egraphic station  was  erected  at  my  own  expense. 

The  beautiful  location  of  this  place,  its  healthfulness  and 
its  proximity  to  a  forest  of  nearly  one  thousand  acres,  con- 
taining many  varieties  of  trees,  determined  my  choice  in  its. 


516  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

favor.  In  this  forest  there  are  many  sorts  of  singing-bu-ds, 
and  above  all  a  large  number  of  nightingales,  which  are  also 
to  be  found  in  all  the  groves  of  the  vicinity.  There  are  also 
several  large  springs,  furnishing  water  enough  to  drive  a 
saw-mill  six  hours  each  day.  The  situation  of  this  mill  is 
very  beautiful,  and  in  its  vicinit}^  I  established  my  ponds  for 
trout-raising.  In  addition  to  the  large  mill-pond  I  laid  out 
six  smaller  nurse-ponds  and  five  nurse-boxes,  also  a  hatch- 
ing-house, each  of  these  being  supplied  by  a  separate  spring. 
At  the  end  of  last  January  I  had  on  hand  :  9,986  fish  of  this 
year,  2,981  one-year  fish,  2,691  two-year,  373  three-year, 
130  four  year  fish, — in  all,  16,161  salmon-trout  and  others. 
Those  of  one  year  are  three  to  four  inches ;  those  of  two 
years  six  to  eight  inches  ;  those  of  three  years  eleven  to  four- 
teen inches ;  and  those  of  four  years  nineteen  to  twenty-five 
inches. 

The  three-year  fish  weigh  nine  to  ten  ounces ;  those  of 
four  years  two  pounds  and  more,  and  some  as  much  as  two 
and  three-quarters  pounds.     They  are  doing  excellently. 

For  the  protection  of  the  trout  a  portion  of  the  wood, 
comprising  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  is  fenced  ofi" 
and  used  at  the  same  time  as  a  deer-park.  This  is  traversed 
by  paths  and  possesses  great  natural  beauty. 

Near  the  saw-mill  is  a  shed  to  shelter  a  stock  of  wild  ducks 
for  the  winter ;  it  is  connected  with  running  water.  The 
wild  ducks  breed  on  the  mill-pond  and  two  other  ponds 
newly  constructed  for  the  purpose.  Forty  to  fifty  breeding 
ducks  and  twenty  drakes  are  to  be  found  here. 

In  two  reservoirs,  fed  by  springs,  fresh-water  crabs  are 
kept, 

The  Castle  is  surrounded  by  a  park,  adjoining  which  are  a 
kitchen  and  fruit-garden  of  six  and  one-half  acres  area,  and  a 
green-house  of  pise,  in  which  the  earliest  and  latest  varieties 
of  fruit  and  berries  are  cultivated. 

A  deer-park  of  nearly  seven  hundred  acres  has  been  laid 
out  near  Bacov,  including  meadow  and  field.  At  present 
this  contains  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  fiillow  deer  and 
thirty-two  of  the  larger  sort;  also  hares,  pheasants  and  part- 
ridges in  large  numbers. 

On  account  of  the  close  proximity  of  land  belonging  to 


EEPOET  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        517 

other  parties,  this  park  is  fenced  off  so  as  to  be  inaccessible 
to  hares.  The  game  is  all  very  fat — a  buck  of  the  larger 
sort  weighs  generally  three  hundred  and  ten  to  three  hundred 
and  fifty  odd  pounds  ;  a  fallow  buck  a  hundred  and  sixty-five 
to  two  hundred  pounds. 

Before  commencing  the  erection  of  my  buildings  and  the 
improvement  of  my  land,  it  was  necessary  to  get  this  latter 
out  of  the  hands  of  my  tenants,  and  to  provide  for  the  imme- 
diate shelter  of  my  draught  cattle,  servants  and  overseers. 
For  this  purpose  I  bought  and  hired  various  buildings  in  the 
villages  of  Freudenck,  Bejchor  and  Ovcar. 

On  account  of  its  low  position  the  land  was  exposed  to 
inundations,  as  before  mentioned,  and  was  therefore  swampy 
and  uncultivable.  In  addition,  its  nature  was  very  diverse, 
some  portions  consisting  of  drift  sand  and  others  of  the 
purest  clay.  Its  powers  were  also  exhausted  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  was  considered  at  first  utterly  valueless,  and  my 
outlay  for  its  improvement  was  looked  upon  with  astonish- 
ment. 

It  was  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  increase  its  extent  by  the 
additional  purchase  of  370  acres  containing  many  varieties 
of  soil.  Thus  the  estate  Kolin  contains  to-day  5,000  acres, 
of  which  29  acres  are  vineyard;  17  acres  are  building  area; 
9  acres  are  hop-gardens;  1,915  acres  are  tilled  land;  201 
acres  are  meadow ;  23  acres  are  gardens ;  10  acres  are 
ponds ;  386  acres  are  rivers,  roads,  ditches  and  unproductive 
area;  39  acres  are  pasturage;  2,370  acres  are  wood.  In  all, 
5,000  acres;  of  which  139  acres  are  held  by  the  tenants; 
208  acres  have  been  hired  to  extend  the  area  of  the  hunting 
preserves.  These  are  mostly  sandy  pasturage,  and  have 
been  ploughed  over. 

The  necessary  stock  of  draught  cattle  has  been  procured, 
together  with  sowers  and  other  implements,  and  a  regular 
rotation  of  crops  introduced. 

Inundations  are  guarded  against  by  dams,  and  the  water 
collecting  is  led  away  by  a  system  of  ditches.  The  water 
accumulating  on  the  inside  of  the  dams  is  carried  ofif  by 
wooden  pipes  passing  through  the  latter,  and  having  valves 
opening  outwards  only.  These  are  closed  by  the  inundating 
water,  and  on  the  disappearance  of  the  latter  are  opened  by 
the  water  within,  which  then  flows  off. 


518  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

The  soil  is  kept  in  a  proper  condition  of  dryness  in  part 
by  drains  and  in  part  by  open  ditches,  some  of  which  soak 
up  the  water,  while  others  carry  it  off.  These  have  various 
dimensions,  and  a  length  in  all  of  216,400  feet,  or  forty-one 
miles.  The  water  in  them  should  never  rise  beyond  a  foot's 
distance  from  the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  snow  and  rain- 
water is  conducted  to  these  ditches  by  the  furrows  left  in 
ploughing,  and  in  part  also  by  others  made  at  right  angles  to 
the  latter,  which  should  be  as  numerous  as  possible. 

The  number  of  the  ditches  depends  on  the  width  of  the 
field-,  for  the  cross-furrows  cannot  be  made  very  long  without 
danger  of  being  filled  and  washed  away  b};^  the  water. 

This  is  the  only  way  of  keeping  ploughed  land  dry  in  win- 
ter, and  of  avoiding  the  injurious  effects  on  the  winter-seed 
of  moisture,  accompanied  by  alternate  thawing  and  freezing. 
Frost  increases  the  volume  of  moist  earth,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  raises  the  plants  and  tears  up  their  roots.  These  then 
become  sickly  and  die,  or  are  even  drawn  entirely  out  of  the 
earth. 

It  is  easily  understood  that  in  such  an  extensive  system  of 
ditches  as  exists  on  these  farms,  the  width  and  depth  of  each 
must  be  correctly  proportioned  in  order  to  prevent  an  over- 
flow. I  have  known  cases,  however,  where  this  apparently 
simple  precaution  has  unfortunately  not  been  taken.  The 
ditches  should  be  enlarged  at  each  point  where  they  receive 
a  new  supply  of  water,  and  sufiiciently  enlarged  to  take  this 
up.  Thus  the  main  ditches  must  have  a  capacity  equal  to 
that  of  all  the  smaller  ones  emptying  into  them. 

The  spring- water  is  used  for  supplying  the  farms  and  the 
pond  for  the  game  in  the  deer-park.  The  inundating  water 
is  dammed  up  for  irrigation  of  the  meadows. 

I  have  adopted  a  simple  means  for  crossing  the  large  num- 
ber of  ditches  on  my  farms.  These  must  always  remain  open 
for  draining  the  swampy  land,  and  bridges  are  expensive,  and 
liable,  if  of  wood,  to  be  stolen.  On  the  regular  wagon-roads 
the  approaches  to  the  ditches  are  made  with  a  slope,  and  even 
where  they  are  six  feet  deep  it  is  customary  to  drive  through 
them.  In  other  cases  bundles  of  branches  or  fascines  are 
laid  temporarily  across,  and  afterwards  carried  back  to  the 
sheds,  where  they  are  stored. 


EEPOET  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        519 

The  soil  has  been  improved  by  transporting  clay  to  the 
sandy  parts  and  sand  to  the  clayey  parts.  Happily  the  estate 
of  Kolin  itself  furnished  the  material  for  this  purpose  in 
abundance  and  conveniently  accessible. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hunded  loads  of  clay  per 
acre  have  been  transported  to  the  sandy  patches  occurring  on 
most  of  the  fields,  and  also  to  a  cultivated  tract  of  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres. 

To  facilitate  this  labor,  I  procured  a  wire-tramway,  which 
was  also  of  assistance  in  laying  out  my  vineyards  and  in 
bringing  down  large  quantities  of  soil  from  the  hills. 

To  prevent  loss  of  time  in  the  employment  of  my  draught 
cattle  and  laborers,  the  farm-buildings  are  placed  in  the  mid- 
dle of  my  farms,  and  the  roads  made  to  radiate  from  them. 
The  latter  have  a  convex  surface  and  side  ditches,  and  the 
main  roads  are  macadamized.  The  length  of  roads  thus  laid 
out  is  more  than  fifty  miles. 

All  boundary  lines,  roads  and  ditches  are  planted  with 
fruit-trees  of  the  same  sorts,  and  six  orchards  have  also  been 
established. 

The  land  near  the  Elbe  and  belonging  to  the  farm  of  the 
Kaiserzdorf,  is  the  only  tract  bordered  by  apple  and  pear- 
trees,  planted  alternately.  I  have  set  out  544  apple-trees, 
445  pear-trees,  20,046  plum-trees,  6,442  wild  and  cultivated 
cherry-trees,  810  chestnut-trees  ;  making  in  all  28,287. 

The  method  introduced  by  me  in  1836,  of  setting  out  fruit- 
trees  in  hills  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  has  proved 
very  good.  The  trees  grow  very  luxuriantly,  and  their  trunks 
are  entirely  free  from  moss.  Those,  on  the  contrary,  planted 
in  the  old  way,  six 'to  twelve  inches  below  the  surface,  are 
weak ;  their  trunks  and  branches  are  covered  with  moss  and 
their  roots  decayed. 

To  prevent  the  gardeners  from  setting  out  these  trees  in 
pits,  as  was  formerly  the  custom,  I  issued  directions  in  1868 
to  dig  holes  only  six  to  eight  inches  deep  in  the  meadows, 
pastures  or  other  tracts  devoted  to  grass,  where  they  were  to 
be  set  out,  and  to  refill  these  previous  to  planting.  The  trees 
are  then  to  be  placed  on  these  spots,  and  their  roots  spread 
out  and  covered  with  earth  to  a  distance  of  four  feet  from  the 
trunks. 


520  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

This  great  number  of  fruit-trees  will  eventually  give  the 
estate  the  appearance  of  a  garden,  and  even  now  the  farm- 
buildings,  rising  picturesquely  from  amongst  the  foliage  and 
the  lines  of  road  extending  in  all  directions,  present  an  ap- 
pearance incomparably  superior  to  the  former  wild  and  barren 
look  of  the  region. 

Thus  the  estate  has  gained,  not  only  in  agricultural  value, 
but  in  natural  beauty,  and  this  to  a  remarkable  extent. 

Hop-gardens  were  laid  out  in  1867  according  to  my  method, 
introduced  in  the  year  1830,  on  the  estate  of  Kornhaus  in 
Srbetsch,  Bdin,  Prerubnitz  and  Kownowa,  two  and  a  half 
miles  from  Saaz.  This  consists  in  planting  the  slips  in  rows 
four  feet  apart  and  distant  two  feet  from  one  another  in  the 
rows. 

The  hop-poles  are  set  out  four  feet  apart,  as  usual,  one 
being  given  to  every  two  plants,  and  serve  for  only  two  vines 
each,  one  from  each  plant. 

The  latter  are  not  at  all  weakened  by  training  only  one  of 
their  runners  on  the  pole.  The  principal  advantage  of  my 
method  is  that,  by  doubling  the  number  of  slips  set  out,  there 
are  no  gaps  in  the  fields  at  harvest-time,  and  the  yield  is  made 
larger  and  more  certain.  If  particular  slips  die,  their  places 
are  supplied  by  the  vines  of  the  neighboring  one  until  others 
set  out  in  their  stead  reach  maturity. 

The  old  system  has  such  inherent  defects  that  its  results 
can  never  be  as  great  nor  as  regular  as  my  own ;  its  disad- 
vantages are  the  following  : — 

1 .  Three  to  five  slips  are  set  out  at  one  point,  and  crowd 
and  rob  one  another  of  the  necessary  nourishment,  thus  pre- 
venting their  proper  development. 

2.  The  plants  are  separated  from  one  another  by  intervals 
of  four  feet.  Thus,  if  one  set  dies,  a  bare  spot  eight  feet 
long  and  wide  is  left. 

3.  Many  such  spots  must  occur,  because  usually  one-twelfth 
of  all  slips  set  out  die  each  year,  and  those  planted  in  their 
stead  require  three  years  to  reach  maturity ;  many  of  these 
also  die  from  the  shade  occasioned  by  the  matured  vines. 
Under  the  most  favorable  circumstances  three-twelfths  or  one- 
fourth  of  all  the  plants  come  to  nothing. 

In  order  to  dry  the  hops  quickly,  thoroughly  and  cheaply, 


REPOET  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        521 

1  have  made  use  of  a  contrivance  first  applied  by  me  on  tlie 
estate  of  Mescliau,  which  I  had  leased  in  the  year  1858. 
Here  it  was  attended  with  the  best  results.  The  hops  are 
dried  on  flakes  in  the  magazines,  just  as  malt  in  the  kilns. 
Narrow  boards  are  placed  perpendicularly  between  the  floor 
and  ceiling,  holes  two  and  a  half  to  three  inches  in  diameter 
are  cut  in  them  at  intervals  of  about  one  foot,  and  hop-poles 
passed  through  from  board  to  board  horizontally.  The  flakes 
are  then  covered  with  hops  to  the  depth  of  one  to  two  inches 
and  laid  upon  these  poles.  They  consist  of  a  wooden  frame 
or  coarse  sackcloth. 

The  hops  thus  exposed  are  stirred  up  and  turned  by  tap- 
ping slightly  upon  the  lower  side  of  the  net  with  a  light  rod. 

This  simple  and  convenient  method  of  hop-drying  has 
proved  invariably  successful,  and  has  been  widely  imitated. 

In  order  to  try  how  grapes  would  grow  on  my  estate,  and 
what  quality  of  wine  they  would  produce,  I  set  out  a  few 
vines  in  1865  in  the  Elbe  suburb  of  Kolin,  and  also  in  my 
kitchen  garden  at  the  Castle  of  Horskyfeld.  The  grapes 
yielded  were  pressed,  and  gave  a  wine  of  good  quality. 

Dr.  Schmidt,  imperial  and  royal  counsellor  for  the  sec- 
tion, now  deceased,  and  celebrated  as  the  reformer  of  grape- 
culture  in  Bohemia,  had  jDroduced  such  excellent  results  by 
his  methods  of  treating  the  grape-vine  and  wine  at  Unter- 
herkowitz,  that  I  was  led  to  introduce  grape-culture  on  my 
estate  at  Kolin,  on  a  much  larger  scale  and  conformably  to 
his  principles. 

To  carry  out  my  project  I  selected  the  wooded  territory 
situated  in  the  parish  of  Lzowitz,  near  Elbe-Teinitz,  lying 
between  the  lines  eleven  and  four,  and  having  a  southerly 
and  south-westerly  slope.  It  is  thoroughly  sheltered  from 
the  cold  east  winds  and  constant  west  winds  prevalent.  The 
formation  of  the  mountain  is  in  layers,  with  an  inclination 
of  forty-five  degrees.  The  upper  portion  of  the  tract  was 
covered  with  sand  to  the  depth  of  nineteen  feet,  and 
abounds  in  springs.  Not  far  from  the  foot  of  the  slope 
flows  the  Elbe. 

The  whole  territory  was  woody ;  above  was  pine ;  below, 
on  the  portions  constantly  covered  by  inundations,  was  a 
growth  of  brush  springing  from  the  roots  of  fallen  trees  of 

66 


522  EXPOSITION   AT    VIENNA. 

enormous  size.  Some  of  their  trunks  had  a  diameter  of 
from  four  to  five  feet,  and  were,  in  several  cases,  buried 
under  three  feet  of  soil. 

The  first  thing  to  be  attended  to  was  the  drainage.  On 
the  eighth  of  January,  1871,  work  was  commenced,  by  the 
aid  of  five  hundred  to  six  hundred  laborers,  and  at  the  end  of 
June,  14.2  acres  were  trenched,  cleared  and  planted.  Up 
to  the  present  summer  23.4  acres  have  been  completed  in 
all,  and  there  now  remain  5.88  acres  to  be  reclaimed. 

The  severest  task  was  to  transport  sand  to  the  lower  loam 
soil,  then  utterly  unfit  for  the  vine  ;  to  transport  loam  to  the 
upper  sandy  tracts,  and  to  fill  in  the  many  gaps  and  gorges 
on  the  slopes.  In  addition  to  the  human  and  animal  labor 
employed,  the  wire-tramway  was  of  great  assistance  in  these 
operations. 

On  the  warm  southerly  slopes  I  planted  "  Johannisberger 
Eiessler";  on  the  heights  less  exposed 'to  the  sun,  white 
Burgundy  "Chablis."  The  middle  portion,  which  has  a 
rich  subsoil,  is  planted  principally  with  blue  Burgundy  "  St. 
Laurent";  and  the  sunniest  portions  of  this  tract,  to  the 
west,  with  "Trollinger."  The  middle  stretches  of  the  east 
side  were  planted  with  "  Gewlirz  Traminer  " ;  and  the  lower 
land  with  "Krachgutedel." 

The  whole  vineyard  is  provided  with  the  necessary  roads. 
One  of  these  winds  up  to  the  highest  point  in  zigzags 
2,480  feet  long,  and  is  supported  by  solid  walls,  in  some 
cases  twenty-four  feet  in  height.  These  face  the  south  and 
are  used  for  training  the  vines  upon. 

From  any  point  in  the  vineyard  a  fine  view  is  obtained  of 
the  plains  of  Elbe-Teinitz,  Caslau,  Ivuttenberg  and  Kolin. 

I  have  employed  both  artificial  and  animal  manures  for 
the  vines,  and  for  the  further  production  of  the  latter  shall 
build  a  slied  this  year  for  twenty  head  of  cattle.  This  will 
be  constructed  in  the  simple  manner  already  described,  by 
merely  resting  a  straw  roof  upon  the  ground.  Here  cows 
will  be  kept  to  furnish  milk  for  the  wine-pressers  and  reg- 
ular vineyard  laborers ;  also  relay  oxen  for  fattening  and 
hauling.  A  house  for  the  accommodation  of  the  laborers  will 
also  be  built  in  the  same  manner. 

The  preparation  of  the  land  for  this  vineyard  has  been  a 


EEPOET    OF   MR.    FRANCIS    H.    APPLETON.  523 

great  piece  of  labor,  but  Dr.  Schmidt  has  conducted  it  most 
judiciously  and  artistically,  as  he  previously  did  that  of  the 
large  vineyards  at  Unterberkowitz.  He  afterwards  laid  out 
similar  tracts  at  Liboch,  Beraun,  and  Chrudim,  and  thus 
erected  to  himself  an  imperishable  monument,  while  he 
infused  new  life  into  the  Bohemian  grape-culture. 

Immediately  on  purchasing  my  estate,  I  paid  particular 
attention  to  the  care  of  the  woods.  The  trees  were  judi- 
ciously thinned  out,  and  the  litter  which  formerly  sold  for 
$1,400  to  $1,600  per  year,  was  no  longer  removed. 

The  mulberry  bushes  planted  between  the  rows  of  fruit- 
trees,  in  the  hopes  of  some  day  introducing  the  silk-worm 
and  serving  at  the  time  as  a  hedge,  had  to  be  removed,  as 
they  were  destroyed  by  hares  and  rabbits. 

The  meadows  lying  near  the  Elbe  are  provided  with  facil- 
ities for  irrigation.  A  movable  engine,  with  a  centrifugal 
pump,  draws  2,700  cubic  feet  of  water  per  hour  from  the 
Elbe.  It  is  also  used  to  fill  the  pond  of  Mnekovina  formerly 
existing  in  the  Elbe  suburb.  This  pond  is  furnished  with  a 
sluice  and  is  filled  immediately  before  the  setting  in  of  the 
frost,  in  order  to  get  ice  for  the  brewery  before  it  forms  on 
the  running  water  of  the  Elbe. 

The  banks  of  the  Elbe  are  protected  from  injury  through 
the  water,  by  heaps  of  stones,  fascines,  and  interlaced  willow- 
work. 

The  swampy  meadows  and  fields  are  sown  with  coarse 
grass,  also  the  wider  ditches.  I  have,  further,  two  threshing- 
machines,  driven  by  movable  engines  of  ten  to  fourteen  horse- 
power, which  are  also  employed  for  cutting  up  straw.  The 
field-hands  have  as  much  grain  as  they  can  thresh  by  hand. 

After  the  North-western  Railway  had  become  a  certainty, 
and  the  transportation  of  beets  from  a  distance  rendered  a 
possibility,  I  determined,  m  the  year  1869,  to  complete  the 
sugar-factory  commenced  in  the  Elbe  suburb  of  Kolin,  and 
on  which  labor  had  been  suspended  for  several  years,  for  I 
felt  that,  without  factories,  farming  can  never  give  the  high- 
est returns  possible  otherwise  to  be  reached. 

It  is  through  the  influence  of  this  feeling  that  so  many 
sugar  and  alcohol-factories  and  distilleries  have  just  come 
into  existence.     It  is  only  to  be  wished  that  the  government 


524  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

would  regard  their  establishment  as  means  to  an  end,  vjhich 
end  is  the  furtherance  of  farming,  and  would  therefore  assist 
them  as  far  as  possible,  and  sustain  them  in  a  condition  of 
j^rosperity.  The  more  such  sources  of  revenue  are  encour- 
aged, the  greater  will  be  the  tax  returns,  although  they  be 
set  at  the  lowest  rate.  Also  the  tax-paying  power  of  landed 
property  will  be  raised,  and  this  is  the  mightiest  source  of 
revenue. 

I  am  unable  to  conceal  the  fear  that  has  long  oppressed 
me,  that  as  the  cultivation  of  the  beet  increases,  even  beyond 
the  needs  of  the  sugar-factories  now  coming  into  being,  while 
the  production  of  grain  is  at  the  same  time  urged  to  its  high- 
est amount,  the  threatened  exhaustion  of  the  soil  will  be  all 
the  sooner  brought  about.  This  is  already  showing  itself  in 
the  frequent  bad  harvests,  which  are,  however,  never  attrib- 
uted to  their  real  cause,  but  always  to  unfavorable  weather. 

With  such  a  method  of  cultivation  as  unfortunately  now 
generally  exists,  without  system,  without  judicious  rotation 
of  crops  and  proper  application  of  manure,  nothing  less  can 
be  looked  for  than  the  utter  decay  of  agriculture.  This  I 
have  called  attention  to  several  times  since  the  year  1861,  in 
my  pamphlets  and  lectures  (field  sermons) ,  and  now  take  the 
opportunity  to  refer  to  it  again,  with  the  expression  of  the 
opinion  that,  without  the  inteoduction  or  system  in  farm- 
ing, and  practical,  instruction,  gained  by  studying  the 

OPERATIONS  CONDUCTED  ON  MODEL  FARMS,  IN  ACCORDANCE 

WITH  MX  METHODS,  the  reform  so  thoroughly  needed  cannot 
be  brought  about,  at  least  within  the  time  at  our  disposal. 

A  great  amount  of  hauling  had  been  necessary  on  my 
estates,  in  order  to  transport  19,000  to  22,500  bushels  of 
grain  annually  from  the  farm  of  Carolinenhofi"  to  Kolin,  as 
well  as  the  110,000  to  120,000  hundred-weight  of  beets  that 
can  be  raised  there.  In  addition  to  this,  6,000  to  7,000 
hundred-weight  of  artificial  manure,  and  47,000  to  60,000 
hundred-weight  of  beet-cuttings,  had  to  be  hauled  back  from 
Kolin  to  Carolinenhofif  each  year.  To  do  away  somewhat 
with  this  necessity,  a  horse-railroad  was  built  between  the 
sugar-factory  and  the  station,  Gross-Wossek,  on  the  North- 
western Eailway,  having  a  length  of  9,733  feet,  and  a  branch 
line  of  this  road  further  constructed,  connecting  the  station 


EEPOET    OF    MR.    FRANCIS    H.    APPLETON.  525 

of  Kolin  with  the  farm  of  Carolinenhoff.  The  large  cost  of 
this  connection  is  more  than  made  up  for  by  the  great  facili- 
tation of  farming  operations,  by  which  the  yield  is  increased 
and  insured. 

To  facilitate  hauling  at  other  points,  a  movable  wooden 
tramway,  1,200  feet  long,  and  provided  with  six  tip-cars,  is 
being  made. 

I  pass  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  results  which  I  have 
brought  about  on  the  estate  of  Kolin,  by  my  great  outlays 
for  improvements  and  farming  generally. 

As  before  mentioned,  I  had  raised  the  yield  on  the  seven- 
teen estates  under  my  control,  taking  an  average  of  several 
years,  62  to  110  per  cent.,  and  their  net  returns  in  money,  84 
to  236  per  cent.  Yet  this  very  favorable  result  did  not  fully 
satisfy.  I  had  applied  the  three  mainsprings  of  agriculture, — 
labor,  manure,  and  rotation  of  crops,  especially  the  latter,  in 
its  strictest  form.  Yet  the  average  return  per  acre,  taking 
the  whole  area  cultivated,  was  only  25|  bushels  of  rye,  after 
subtracting  the  seed,  while  the  soil  seemed  capable  of  a  much 
larger  yield. 

The  cause,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  lay  in  the  fact  that  there 
can  never  be  enough  manure  produced  on  a  farm  to  keep  the 
whole  cultivated  area  in  full  vigor,  and  thus  to  attain  the 
greatest  possible  yield  and  profits.  It  was  impossible,  upon 
these  estates,  to  supply  the  lacking  amount  by  an  artificial 
substitute,  and  thus  increase  the  results  produced  by  the 
rotation  of  crops.  It  was  not  until  I  became  proprietor  of 
the  estate  of  Kolin,  that  I  cared  for  the  proper  application  of 
all  three  of  the  mainsprings  of  agriculture,  being  here  first 
able  to  make  thorough  use  of  artificial  manure. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  adulteration  of  the  latter,  which  is 
frequent  in  trade,  I  resolved  to  erect  an  artificial  manure-fac- 
tory for  my  own  use.  After  its  completion,  I  made  it,  to 
some  extent,  a  joint-stock  enterprise,  retaining  for  myself, 
however,  a  large  proportion  of  the  stock,  and  gave  the  small 
farmers  an  opportunity  to  procure  the  manure  pure  and  cheap. 

This  factory  was  soon  looked  on  with  general  favor,  for  I 
delivered  it§  products  on  a  year's  credit,  thus  giving  the 
farmers  an  opportunity  of  convincing  themselves  of  its  value. 
They  soon  found  its  use  indispensable. 


526  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

Although  not  a  member  of  the  board  of  dh'ectors  of  this 
enterprise,  having  declined  election  to  this  position,  the 
stockholders  expressed  their  thanks  to  me  by  giving  me  a 
vote  at  the  meetings,  according  to  statute.  I  had  also  caused 
the  bat-guano  found  in  the  grottos  at  Altogradena,  near 
Orszowa,  to  be  collected.  This  reached  the  amount  of  4,900 
hundred- weight . 

At  the  same  time,  I  made  experiments  on  a  small  and 
large  scale  with  various  manures,  wishing  to  discover  what 
amount  and  kinds,  wliether  alone  or  mixed  together,  would 
produce  the  greatest  yield. 

In  the  following  table  B,  I  have  collected  the  results  which 
have  proved  most  satisfactory  from  138  experiments  made  in 
the  year  1871,  in  connection  with  beet-culture.  Here  are  to 
be  seen  per  acre  the  kind,  quantity  and  cost  of  the  manure ; 
also  the  amount,  value  and  richness  in  sugar  of  the  beets. 

Experiments  conducted  on  a  large  scale  with  various  artifi- 
cial manures  in  the  cultivation  of  all  other  products,  although 
applied  in  very  different  quantities,  and  at  different  times, 
were,  in  general,  attended  with  the  most  satisfactory  results. 

They  settled  the  following  points  : 

Stable-manure,  produced  with  farm  or  purchased  straw  and 
fodder,  is  twice  as  dear  as  its  equivalent  in  artificial  manure. 
Further,  good  manures  are  more  efficient  when  properly 
mixed  together  than  when  used  alone ;  manuring  should  be 
conducted  rather  frequently,  and  in  small  quantities,  than 
seldom,  and  in  large  quantities ;  finally,  as  with  animals  a 
certain  quantity  of  fodder  is  necessary  to  sustain  life,  and 
only  the  amount  given  over  and  above  this  serves  to  produce 
strength,  flesh  and  fat,  so  to  sustain  the  productive  power  of 
land  a  certain  quantity  of  manure  is  absolutely  necessary, 
and  only  what  is  added  beyond  this  produces  an  increased 
and  profitable  yield. 

This  I  have  proved  in  the  following  manner.  I  selected 
from  my  estate  at  Kolin  two  superior  pieces  of  land,  of  equal 
quality,  from  those  portions  which  had  been  held  by  small 
tenants  for  over  one  hundred  years,  and  had  thus  become 
exhausted.  They  had  come  into  my  hands  between  the  years 
1863  and  1869,  one  after  another.  These  I  sowed  with  win- 
ter-grain for  the  harvest  of  1868,  having  given  them  5.2 


BEPORT  or  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON. 


527 


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528  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

hunclred-weiglit  of  superphosphate  per  acre.  I  then  selected 
a  third  piece  of  the  same  field,  but  of  inferior  soil,  and  gave 
it  7.8  hundred-weight  of  the  same  substance  per  acre.  The 
yield  from  the  first  averaged  253  sheaves  per  acre,  from  the 
second  506.  The  use  of  2.6  hundred- weight  addition  super- 
phosphate per  acre  thus  doubled  the  yield.  After  subtract- 
ing $4.97  as  the  cost  of  this  additional  manure,  from  the  value 
of  the  increase  in  yield  of  253  sheaves,  we  have  a  remainder 
which  can  be  considered  as  net  profit,  since  there  were  no  other 
expenses  connected  with  its  use.  Judging  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  grain,  still  more  manure  might  have  been 
employed,  and  the  yield  thus  still  further  increased.  Less 
than  5.2  hundred-weight  of  superphosphate  per  acre  would 
have  paid  no  better  than  an  insufficient  supply  of  stable- 
manure. 

Basing  my  system  upon  these  trials,  I  commenced  manur- 
ing the  fields  every  second  year  from  1872  on,  but  each  year 
only  with  small  quantities,  so  that  they  only  gradually 
reached  their  full  productive  power  and  a  condition  in  which 
more  manure  would  have  been  injurious.  It  is  not  always 
easy  to  determine  beforehand  how  much  manure  should  be 
spread,  as  changes  in  the  weather  cause  great  difierence  in 
the  quantity  required.  In  fact,  the  manuring  begun  in  1872 
for  all  summer  crops  caused  me  great  uneasiness  on  account 
of  the  warmth  and  wetness  of  the  spring,  for  after  every 
heavy  fall  of  rain,  accompanied  generally  by  violent  winds, 
the  grain  was  beaten  down  as  if  by  a  roller.  It  was  only 
through  the  strength  of  the  stalks  arising  from  the  use  of  the 
superphosphate  that  the  grain  arose  after  being  six  times 
prostrated,  and  at  this  moment  is  almost  all  in  good  con- 
dition . 

In  the  year  1872  the  condition  of  the  crops  had  become  so 
luxurious  through  the  application  of  manure,  that  they  sur- 
passed in  appearance  anything  I  had  ever  before  seen. 

As  mentioned,  however,  there  is  great  danger  attending 
the  use  of  manure  each  year,  since  the  effects  of  the  weather 
cannot  be  calculated  upon  in  advance. 

The  gradual  increase  in  the  quantity  of  manure  employed 
each  year  is  as  follows  : — 


EEPOET   OF   MR.    TRANCIS    H.    APPLETON. 


529 


1864-65 
1865-66 
1866-67 
1867-68 
1868-69 
1869-70 
1870-71 
1871-72 
1872-73 


4,952  cwt.,  costing     $5,754  (gold). 


5,839 
4,627 
6,207 
7,026 
8,698 
11,633 
10,066 
9,848 


9,031 
6,523 
11,571 
12,834 
16,041 
18,758 
21,851 
24,335 


Therefore  in  nine  years,  in  all,  68,896  cwt.,  costing  $126,698  (gold). 

Besides  these  artificial  manures  I   had   employed   up  to 
December,  1872  : — 


Of  wood-ashes,      ....... 

Of  compost  consisting  of  the  refuse  of  the  sugar- 
works  and  of  the  butchers'  stalls,  also  horn- 
parings  and  wool-refuse,         .... 

Of  bat-guano  from  the  grottos  at  Altogradena, 

Of  clay  containing  lime, 


37,283  bushels. 


59,020  cwt. 
4,940  cwt. 
71,024  loads. 


The  conviction  of  the  advantage  and  necessity  of  helping 
the  land  with  artificial  manure  has  become  established  in  the 
minds  of  the  small  proprietors  in  this  vicinity  to  a  most 
encouraging  extent.  Herr  Prokupek,  in  Kutlirsch,  employs, 
beyond  all,  large  quantities  of  artificial  manure  every  year 
and  gets  the  best  results.  This  gentleman  proves  himself  an 
intelligent  farmer,  and  sets  a  most  judicious  example  by  put- 
ting his  land  into  systematized  working  order  by  following 
the  rules  of  a  strict  rotation  of  crops  or  otherwise  pursuing 
the  most  rational  course. 

On  the  occasion  of  deep  ploughing  after  my  method  for 
the  first  time  at  the  estate  of  Kolin,  upon  the  different  tracts 
which  had  been  let  out,  we  brought  a  quantity  of  fertilizing 
substances  to  the  surface,  among  them  original  matter  not 
yet  exhausted,  and  the  various  manures  which  had  been 
occasionally  applied  by  the  tenants,  washed  into  the  subsoil 
by  rain  and  snow-water. 

By  thus  employing  many  varieties  of  manure  in  the  larger 
amounts,  the  third  mainspring  of  production  is  made  to  play 
its  part. 

67 


530  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

I  have  also,  as  one  might  say,  carried  the  rotation  of  crops 
to  its  furthest  limits.  I  have  divided  the  whole  cultivated 
land  into  two  portions,  and  on  one  of  these  planted  potatoes, 
beets  and  other  vegetables,  on  the  other  grain;  each  year 
alternating.  I  have  referred  to  this  system  in  my  "  Field 
Sermons,"  as  the  most  efficient  of  all  in  use  and  capable  of 
yielding  the  greatest  returns. 

This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  farm  of  Franzenshof.  Here  I 
introduced  this  double  rotation  immediately  after  the  close  of 
the  leases  in  1866-67,  and  obtained  a  greater  yield  than  on 
any  of  the  other  farms,  which  were  going  through  a  rotation 
with  ten  or  twelve  changes  of  cultivation,  being  also  left  fal- 
low and  then  sown  with  clover  cut  for  two  years  in  succession. 

Clover  had  not  flourished  well  at  first,  but  only  dm-ing  the 
last  three  years.  On  this  account,  and  since,  the  sugar-works 
at  Kolin,  now  built  three  years,  required  a  larger  supply  of 
beets,  and  afforded  a  large  amount  of  residue  as  food  for  the 
cattle.  I  selected  the  better  fields  from  the  other  four  farms 
in  the  year  1872,  and  cultivated  them  on  my  system  of  rota- 
tion, while  the  remaining  inferior  fields  went  through  ten  and 
twelve  changes,  with  one  year  of  clover  only  and  lying  the 
same  time  fallow.  I  was  led  to  make  these  changes  also 
through  the  fact  that  Franzenshof  had  not  only  produced  the 
most  beets  of  all  the  farms,  but  had  given  the  greatest  return 
in  money,  and  felt  confident  also  of  retaining  the  soil  in  its 
full  vigor  by  artificial  manuring. 

Sowing  with  clover-seed  for  only  a  single  year  was  intro- 
duced on  the  estate  of  Kolin,  as  an  exception  and  contrary  to 
my  principles  of  agriculture,  for  the  reason  that  the  mild  cli- 
mate there  prevalent  allows  of  a  double  crop,  and  also  of  fully 
preparing  the  land  for  winter-seed,  while  the  use  of  the  clover- 
land  in  the  second  year  for  beets  renders  an  extensive  culture 
of  the  latter  possible,  and  they  are  my  most  profitable  crop, 
now  that  the  sugar-works  are  established. 

This  latter  method  of  cultivation  places  but  a  slight  strain 
on  the  soil,  and  will  be  continued  until  the  other  sandy 
stretches  are  strengthened  with  clay,  and  the  clayey  tracts 
receive  their  proper  supply  of  sand. 

On  account  of  the  dissimilarity  of  the  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion practised,  and  in  the  fertility  of  the  various  fields,  arising 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        531 

from  the  different  periods  at  which  they  were  taken  from  the 
tenants,  or  were  secured  by  exchange  and  purchase,  the  yield 
is  also  very  dissimilar.  For  instance  the  land  in  my  hands, 
from  1865  on,  produced  on  an  average  per  acre,  390  to  494 
cwt.  of  beets,  884  to  1,170  sheaves  of  rye,  758  to  1,012 
sheaves  of  summer  wheat  with  one  bushel  of  waste  per  twenty 
sheaves,  316  to  411  sheaves  of  oats  with  one  bushel  of  waste 
per  seven  sheaves  ;  while  the  land  only  three  years  under  my 
care  produced  proportionately  hardly  a  third  as  many  beets 
and  a  half  to  two-thirds  as  much  grain. 

When  the  yield  of  the  last-mentioned  land  reaches  that  of 
the  first,  the  whole  nlouey  returns  of  the  estate  will  be  neces- 
sarily largely  increased,  because  the  previous  expense  will 
remain  the  same,  and  the  gain  will  be  entirely  net. 

The  farm  of  Carolinenhof  stands  behind  the  others  in  the 
average  yield  per  acre,  because  a  plain  of  208  acres  of  a  very 
sandy  nature,  and  consisting  entirely  of  pasturage,  has  there 
been  hired  to  extend  the  game  preserves.  This  is  ploughed 
but  not  improved  by  the  addition  of  clay,  and  can,  therefore, 
be  planted  with  grain  only  on  half  of  its  area,  while  the  other 
half  lies  fallow,  as  the  owner  will  not  lengthen  the  lease. 

It  should  also  be  known  that  on  the  farm  of  Eleanorenof 
the  land  is  very  bad,  and  has  been  extended  by  later  pur- 
chases. I  propose,  however,  to  render  it  profitable,  and  have 
already  transported  a  large  amount  of  clay  and  spread  it  over 
a  portion.  On  the  farm  of  Haika  the  soil  is  in  part  wet  and 
clayey,  and  in  part  gravelly  and  woody.  On  the  latter  por- 
tions, before  my  purchase,  the  trees  were  cut  away,  and  the 
ground  leased  to  parties  who  were  to  remove  the  stumps,  but 
I  have  it  now  entirely  in  my  own  hands. 

I  have  drained  the  wet  and  clayey  parts,  and  intend  to  cart 
sand  and  clay  into  the  portions  requiring  them. 

These  two  farms  stand  behindhand  in  culture  and,  of 
course,  in  jdeld,  and  thus  lower  the  average  for  the  whole. 
The  land  rented  at  the  Carolinenhof  farm  is  also  bad. 
•  If  we  consider,  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  that  the  fields 
had  received  little  or  no  manure  for  a  long  period  of  years, 
that  they  had  been  badly  tilled,  had  been  sown  every  year 
and  thus  become  utterly  useless,  and  been  left  as  such ;  it  is 
really  extraordinary  to  see  what  the  three  mainsprings,  work, 


532  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

rotation  of  crops,  and  manuring,  have  been  able  to  accom- 
plish. During  the  earlier  period  of  ray  operations,  on 
account  of  this  wretched  treatment,  the  ploughed  land  and 
also  the  meadows  and  pasturages,  which  were  finally  broken 
up,  could  produce  nothing  at  all  without  manure,  since  all 
their  vitality  had  been  drawn  from  them.  At  present  I  have 
brought  the  woodland  under  cultivation  with  good  results, 
and  am  confident  that  what  I  have  thus  far  achieved,  though 
very  remarkable,  will  be  surpassed  in  the  future. 

The  average  per  acre  for  the  whole  land  under  cultivation, 
including  all  five  farms,  after  deducting  the  seed,  was — 

A  yield  equivalent         A  net  profit  in 
ill  rye  to  money  of 

For  the  first  four  years,  1865-69,  .         .    23.92  bushs. 

Here  was  a  loss  of  4^  cents. 
And  for  the  last  4  years,  1869-74  (for  the  last 

of  these  judging  from  appearances) ,      .    41.15  bushs.  $12  23 1^ 
Therefore  in  the  last  4  years  there  is  a  gain 

per  acre  of 17.23  bushs.  $12  27f 

The  average  of  the  net  profit  for  the  last  four  years  is  low- 
ered at  least  $5  per  acre  of  cultivated  land,  by  a  rise  in  the 
cost  of  labor  to  double  its  previous  figure.  This  was  occa- 
sioned by  a  demand  for  laborers  to  aid  in  building  the  various 
structures  of  the  North-western  Eailway,  also  the  depot  and 
three  factories  at  Kolin. 

It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  farm  of  Franzenshof  is  in- 
cluded in  the  calculations.  Here  a  double  rotation  of  crops 
was  introduced,  as  before  mentioned,  immediately  after  call- 
ing in  the  leases,  and  in  spite  of  two  bad  seasons,  it  has 
already  yielded — 


In  the  farm  year  1869-70,    . 
«  "         1870-71,     . 

"  "         1871-72,     . 

«  "         1872-73,     . 

(1872-73  according  to  estimate 


63.36  bushels.  $36  68 

53.23        "  14  18 

49.23        "  13  95 

56.41        "  25  17 


Therefore,  averaging  these  4  years,    .    55.56  bushels.         $22  49 

In  the  amounts  contributed  by  each  article  per  acre  to  the 
averaofe  sum  of  all,  it  is  to  be  seen  that  beets  stand  far 
ahead. 


REPOET   OF   MR.    FRANCIS   H.    APPLETON.  533 

On  the  Franzenshof  farm  : — 

In  the  year  1869-70  the  total  yield  per  acre  was  63.36  bushels, — 

Of  the  beet  alone,        .         .         .     43.30  bushels  in  rye  equivalents. 
Of  the  grain,      ....     15.47  "  " 

Of  the  other  products,         .         .       4.59  "  " 


In  all,  .         .         .         .     63.36 


In  the  year  1872-73  the  total  yield  per  acre  was  56.41  bushels,- 


Of  the  beet  alone, 
Of  the  grain, 
Of  the  damage  by  hail. 
Of  the  other  products, 

In  all, 


36.09  bushels  in  rye  equivalents. 

13.30  "  " 

3.54  "  " 

3.58  "  " 


56.41 


Thus  the  beets  alone  formed  in  1869-70         .         .     68.11  per  cent. 

in  1872-73         .         .     63.90      " 

•    That  is,  over  two-thirds  of  the  value  of  the  whole  yield. 

The  beet  brings  in  ready  money,  as  well  by  its  sale  as  by 
supplying  the  sugar- works  connected  with  the  farms,  and 
leaves  also  in  this  case  refuse  for  the  use  of  the  cattle.  It 
seems,  therefore,  to  have  great  value  and  to  be  worthy  of 
cultivation.  It  can  be  produced  with  the  greatest  economy 
only  by  the  system  of  double  rotation, 

My  practice,  introduced  in  1872,  of  manuring  all  my  land 
each  year,  including  that  sown  with  summer  grain,  can,  if  the 
weather  is  unfavorable,  weaken  the  stalks  and  thus  cause 
much  damage.  The  beet,  however,  stands  a  large  quantity 
of  manure,  and  leaves  some  of  its  value  for  the  grain  of  the 
following  year.  If  we  consider  the  results  shown  by  the 
figures  above  given,  and  in  addition,  that  the  beet  leaves  a 
residue  of  sixty  per  cent,  for  the  cattle,  after  being  worked, 
also  that  the  beet  crop,  judging  by  separate  instances,  can 
be  raised  fifty  to  a  hundred  per  cent,  in  amount,  no  one 
can  take  exception  to  my  present  intention,  which  is,  from 
this  year  on,  to  use  for  the  beets  the  manure  that  has  been 
previously  saved  for  the  summer  grain.  Thus  these  get  all 
the  more  fertilizing  matter,  and  the  ground  remains  in  good 


534  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

condition  for  the  next  year's  grain,  while  there  is  no  danger 
of  injury  to  the  latter,  as  often  occurs  in  direct  manuring. 

The  beet  yield  can  be  increased  and  rendered  more  certain 
by  planting  the  seed  in  ridges. 

The  advantages  of  sowing  in  drills  and  on  ridges  are  great 
and  have  an  important  influence  on  the  yield. 

They  are  the  following  :  — 

1.  The  upper  layer  of  superior  soil  and  the  manure  are  all 
collected  in  the  ridges. 

2.  The  application  of  artificial  manure  can  be  conducted 
together  with  the  sowing,  if  the  machines  are  arranged  for  this 
purpose,  and  thus  all  the  manure  be  concentrated  in  the  drills. 

3.  The  seed  is  preserved  from  the  injurious  effects  of  mois- 
ture by  means  of  deep  furrows  on  each  side. 

4.  The  water  is  led  away  from  the  seed  in  the  furrows,  and 
thus  little  or  no  crust  can  form  over  it. 

5.  What  little  crust  may  form  can  be  broken  up  by  the 
cultivating  implements  as  soon  as  it  appears;  since  these,  if 
made  according  to  my  principles,  are  prevented  from  disturb- 
ing the  seed  by  adjusting  their  blades  to  the  required  posi- 
tions. 

6.  In  the  same  manner  weeds  can  be  destroyed  as  soon  as 
their  roots  are  formed,  and  even  before  their  appearance 
above  the  ground ;  and  this  too  without  awaiting  the  sprout- 
inor  of  the  seed  sown. 

7.  My  method  of  working  the  soil  with  implements  which 
pass  over  the  ridges  and  break  up  the  earth  on  both  sides  of 
them,  gives  certainly  the  most  perfect  results,  since  the  dis- 
tance between  the  knives  is  always  the  same.  By  the  old 
method,  which  cultivated  only  between  the  rows,  large  clods 
were  left  untouched,  and  the  weeds  undisturbed. 

Amou2:st  the  various  instruments  for  'extracting  the  beet- 
root  I  find  those  of  my  own  invention  the  best,  and  shall  show 
their  excellence  at  the  trials.  They  draw  the  root  from  the 
soil  without  injury,  and  at  the  same  time  loosen  the  earth  to 
a  great  depth.  This  is  of  especial  value  when  it  is  impossible 
to  plough  over  all  the  beet-fields  before  winter ;  which,  unfor- 
tunately, often  happens. 

In  such  cases  I  have  been  obliged  to  renounce  the  great 
advantages  of  cultivating  in  ridges,  since  the  necessary  labor 


REPOKT    OF    MR.    FRANCIS    H.    APPLETON.  535 

of  preparation  could  not  be  performed,  and  have  had  to  sow 
on  an  even  surface,  which  sowing  can  take  place  in  four  rows 
at  once  with  the  use  of  my  machines,  and  be  treated  after- 
wards with  my  cultivator  also  on  all  four  rows  at  once.  Ridge 
sowing  and  cultivating  have  thus  far  been  carried  on  only  on 
one  or  two  rows  at  once,  but  I  have  constructed  sowing  and 
manuring  machines,  for  ridge-drills,  that  work  on  four  rows. 
These  will  be  shown  at  the  Vienna  Universal  Exhibition,  and 
will  render  it  possible  to  introduce  ridge  drill-sowing  again. 

My  cultivator  breaks  up  the  soil  on  each  side  of  the  four 
rows,  and,  after  turning  it,  throws  it  back  to  its  first  position. 
Thus  all  weeds  are  rooted  up  and  destroyed,  while  the  soil  is 
thoroughly  loosened.  This  operation  can  take  place  both  be- 
fore and  immediately  after  the  sprouting  of  the  seed  if  the 
soil  happens  to  be  crusted  over  or  hardened.  It  does  not 
cover  the  seed  and  sprouts  with  earth,  clods,  stones,  or  ma- 
nure, nor  does  it  tear  them  up  with  the  crust,  as  all  this  is 
prevented  by  movable  screens. 

The  implements  for  sowing  and  cultivating  the  beet  which 
I  send  to  the  Vienna  Exhibition,  are  the  results  of  my  efforts 
constantly  directed  from  the  commencement  of  my  agricult- 
ural labors  to  working  the  soil  as  thoroughly  as  possible.  I 
I  have  paid  most  especial  attention  to  cultivation  in  drills  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  this  period,  and  consider  my  own  implements 
the  most  effective  of  all. 

In  this  manner  alone  can  the  greatest  yield  of  beets  be 
secured  on  a  given  area,  while  this  is  by  no  means  to  be 
accomplished  by  extending  the  amount  of  space  devoted  to 
them,  say  to  half  the  whole  cultivated  surface  of  the  farm. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  on  the  farm  Franzenshof,  in  order 
to  reach  a  four  years'  average  of  fifty-five  and  one-half  bush- 
els in  rye  equivalents,  per  acre  for  the  whole  cultivated  area, 
and  a  net  return  of  $22.49,  it  was  necessary  to  expend  the 
sum  of  $47.28  per  acre.  Those  who  ure  unable  or  unwilling 
to  employ  so  much  working  capital  will  find  no  profit  in  the 
ordinary  yield  of  18.4  to  27.75  bushels  in  rye  equivalents, 
but  meet  with  actual  loss,  since  the  high  rate  of  taxation, 
labor,  and  artisans*  pay,  as  well  as  the  former's  own  wants, 
call  for  a  far  greater  yield. 

These  average  results  of  the  various  harvests  show  what  a 


536  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

height  the  yield  of  cultivated  laud  can  reach  iu  a  short  period 
by  the  judicious  application  of  labor,  manuring,  and  the 
proper  rotation  of  crops.  They  impress  us,  also,  with  the 
belief  that  this  productive  power  is  capable  of  still  greater 
development  if  all  the  fields  are  thoroughly  manured,  and 
labor  is  applied  iu  the  most  advantageous  manner. 

The  cultivation  of  my  land  has  by  no  means  reached  per- 
fection. I  had  supposed  that  under  my  supervision  it  was  as 
thorough  as  possible ;  yet  many  deficiencies  are  apparent, 
which  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  meet.  Although  my  direc- 
tions are  that  the  earth  is  to  be  ploughed  to  a  depth  of  twelve 
to  fifteen  inches,  this  is  not  always  a  possibility,  partly  since 
the  supervision  of  such  a  large  number  of  ploughs,  often  fifty 
to  eighty  working  at  once,  is  very  difficult,  and  in  case  of  dry 
or  wet  w^eather  is  utterly  impossible,  with  the  present  weak 
labor  of  boys  mostly  from  thirteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age. 

It  would  be  possible,  of  course,  to  work  the  soil  still  deeper 
and  more  evenly  by  means  of  steam-ploughs ;  but  here  arises 
the  unavoidable  difficulty,  which  also  occurs  in  ploughing 
with  cattle,  of  preventing  the  soil  broken  to  such  a  depth, 
especially  when  it  is  still  moist,  from  being  trodden  hard 
again  by  the  first  harrowing,  rolling,  sowing,  and  after-har- 
rowing, etc.  My  endeavor  is  now  to  overcome  this  difficulty, 
and  to  secure  the  advantages  of  subsoil  ploughing  to  the  depth 
of  twelve  and  fifteen  inches,  as  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
conducting  it. 

For  this  purpose  I  have  ordered,  as  before  mentioned,  a 
steam-plough  with  two  locomotives,  to  be  used  also  for  road- 
hauling,  and  two  transportable  gins,  from  the  renowned  Eng- 
lish machine-works  of  John  Fowler,  &  Co.,  in  Leeds. 

My  object  is  especially  to  apply  my  system  of  ploughing, 
according  to  which  a  double  operation  is  carried  on  at  the 
same  time.  The  upper  layer  of  soil  of  the  depth  of  three  to 
four  inches  is  turned  over,  and  also  the  subsoil  is  ploughed 
up  to  a  great  depth  without  being  mixed  with  the  upper  layer. 
This  is  accomplished  with  my  Ruchadlo,  with  two  subsoil 
shares  constructed  for  the  purpose.  The  English  firm  spoken 
of  has  expressed  its  willingness  to  fulfil  my  order,  and  has 
received  from  me  a  specimen  of  my  Ruchadlo. 

By  means  of  the  two  gins  the  remaining  labor  of  working 


EEPOET  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        537 

and  sowing  is  to  be  accomplished,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
wire  rope  stretched  over  the  field,  and  thus  the  treading 
down  of  the  soil  by  draught  cattle  prevented. 

Thus  the  steam-plough  would  accomplish  its  real  mission, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  a  new  process  of  culture  would  be 
developed,  and  the  greatest  perfection  in  the  working  of  the 
soil  reached. 

This  method  must,  in  connection  with  the  great  advances 
made  by  manuring  and  rotation  of  crops,  reach  and  assure 
the  largest  yield  and  profits  possible. 

Just  as  every  mechanic  and  manufacturer  endangers  his 
very  existence  if  he  does  not  keep  up  with  the  march  of 
improvement  and  experience,  and  as  it  is  impossible  for 
him  to  compete  without  progress,  so  the  agriculturist  also  is 
subject  to  their  laws,  as  I  have  already  shown.  By  the 
ordinary  processes  the  yield  per  acre  can  rarely  rise  above 
25.75  bushels  in  rye  for  the  whole  cultivated  ground  after 
deducting  the  seed.  The  expenses  of  all  varieties  of  agri- 
cultural labor,  and  the  rate  of  taxes  for  the  parish,  district 
and  state,  are  more  than  double  what  they  were  formerly ; 
and  can  only  be  met  by  a  larger  yield  if  one's  own  wants 
are  to  be  satisfied  also. 

This  state  of  things  renders  it  unavoidably  necessary  to 
bring  the  three  mainsprings  together  into  full  working 
power,  if  actual  profits  are  to  be  looked  for.  The  large 
amount  of  capital  required  should  not  terrify ;  it  must  be 
employed  and  is  sure  to  repay. 

The  net  profits  of  my  whole  estate  arising  from  all 
sources,  at  the  time  that  it  was  let  out  in  parcels  and 
previous  to  my  purchase,  was,  on  the  average,  $8,490  to 
$9,434  yearly.  In  order  to  introduce  my  own  methods  it 
was  necessary  to  call  in  these  parcels.  At  this  time  there 
were  no  farm  buildings,  no  agricultural  implements,  no 
cattle,  no  fodder,  and  no  straw,  although  wood  litter  was 
on  hand,  it  is  true.  Also,  in  the  years  when  the  leases  were 
called  in,  no  rent  was  received,  as  tliis  had  always  been  paid 
in  advance ;  further,  the  swampy  tracts  had  at  no  time  been 
cultivated,  and  were  then  all  the  worse  for  a  rainy  season. 
On  the  sandy  stretches  the  roots  of  the  sprouting  seed  were 
often  laid  bare  by  the  drifting  of  the  sand,  and  on  other 
68 


538  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

fields  the  seed  was  in  the  same  manner  covered  to  the 
depth  of  eight  to  ten  inches,  and  almost  utterly  destroyed. 
Finally,  the  cattle  and  laborers  could  be  accommodated  only 
with  difficulty  in  the  villages  and  various  scattered  build- 
ings which  I  had  purchased.  In  view  of  all  these  difficul- 
ties the  commencement  of  my  agricultural  labors  was  most 
arduous.  It  was  only  after  I  had  prevented  inundations  by 
ditches,  had  improved  the  soil  by  canals,  and,  in  part,  by 
drainage,  and  had  added  a  large  quantity  of  clay  to  the 
tracts  covered  with  drift  sand,  and  sand  to  those  containing 
strong  loam,  that,  in  the  year  1869-70,  after  the  cultiva- 
tion of  beets  had  been  introduced,  I  found  it  possible  to 
reach  the  profitable  yield. 

The  estate  of  Kolin,  exclusive  of  the  sugar-works,  yielded 
a  return,  in  the  year  1869-70,  of  $41,091;  in  the  year 
1870-71,  of  $42,288;  in  the  year  1871-72,  of  $33,392; 
and  for  the  year  1872-73,  as  estimated,  $43,232;  for  the 
average  of  these  four  years,  $40,000.  In  two  years  from 
the  present  time,  at  the  longest,  the  yield  is  expected  to  be 
$47,000.  This  represents,  at  five  per  cent,  interest,  a  cap- 
ital for  the  average  yield  of  the  last  four  years,  of  $800,000  ; 
for  the  yield  of  the  present  year,  1872-73,  of  $864,640  ;  and 
on  reaching  the  return  $47,000,  to  be  expected  in  the 
course  of  two  years,  $940,000. 

Such  very  satisfactory  results  can  only  be  arrived  at 
by  large  previous  outlays  for  improvements,  preparations, 
manures  and  labor,  which  are,  of  course,  continuous,  but 
through  them  the  yield  is  made  also  continuous  and  certain. 

The  improvements  for  practical  and  ornamental  purposes 
had  consumed  by  the  end  of  December,  1872,  $323,580. 
Besides  this,  at  the  end  of  the  farm  year  1871-72,  the 
stock  of  cattle,  supplies  of  grain,  straw,  fodder,  malt  beer, 
and  other  products  and  material,  with  the  seed  already 
planted,  were  valued  at  $91,073;  the  additional  tracts  pur- 
chased cost  $49,132 ;  finally,  the  sum  paid  for  the  estate 
of  Kolin  was  $217,000;  the  whole  reaches  the  sum  of 
$680,785,  on  which  the  estate  is  to  pay  the  interest  by  its 
yield. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand  seven  hundred  dol- 
lars,  which  have  been  expended  for  artificial  manure,   are 


REPORT   or   MR.    FRANCIS   H.    APPLETON.  539 

not  included  in  this  estimate,  as  they  form  a  part  of  the 
running  expenses. 

In  the  same  way  the  $230,058,  required  for  building  the 
sugar-works  in  the  Elbe  suburb  of  Kolin,  are  also  omitted. 

The  sum  above  estimated,  without  reckoning  the  profits 
of  the  sugar-works,  pays  by  the  returns  of  the  estate  of 
Kolin,  for  the  average  of  the  four  years  from  1869-70  to 
1872-73,  namely  $40,000,  and  an  interest  already  of  5j-8-J^ 
per.  cent.  ;  and  by  the  yield  of  the  present  year,  1872-73, 
of  $43,232,  6jS^5_.  pe^.  cent.  If,  as  is  expected,  the  yield 
reaches  $47,000  in  value,  the  percentage  will  be  Qj-^^,  say 
7  per  cent. 

It  is  certain  that  few  agriculturists  can  boast  of  such  a 
high  rate,  from  a  large  estate  purchased  such  a  short  time 
since. 

That  a  tract  of  land  in  a  so  thoroughly  demoralized  con- 
dition has  been  thus  organized,  laid  out,  cultivated  and 
conducted,  that  such  large  sums  have  been  expended  and 
such  large  returns  have  been  secured  and  made  certain,  has 
caused  the  estate  of  Kolin  to  become  a  model,  in  many 
respects,  for  large  and  small  proprietors. 

It  has  been  visited  by  men  scientifically  and  practically 
eminent,  by  large  and  small  proprietors,  and  by  agricultural 
societies  and  institutions,  who  have  all  wished  to  become 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  its  arrangements. 

When  I  now  reflect  upon  what  I  have  accomplished,  I  feel 
assured,  then,  I  can  do  no  greater  service  to  my  native  land, 
to  the  progress  of  agriculture,  and  to  the  general  good, 
while  I  at  the  same  time  insure  the  interests  of  my  heirs 
and  bring  my  own  labors  to  a  close,  than  by  holding  to  my 
purpose  of  making  the  estate  of  Kolin,  with  the  sugar-works 
in  the  Elbe  suburb,  a  family  and  model  farm,  and  devoting 
the  remainder  of  my  property  to  the  accomplishment  of  this 
object.  I  shall  fix  the  necessary  conditions,  the  manage- 
ment of  the  whole  fund,  its  use  and  continuance.  Of  course 
I  shall  provide  for  its  general  improvement,  and  especially 
for  that  of  agriculture  and  the  industries. 

By  means  of  clear  provisions  for  the  continuance  and 
management  of  the  foundation  fund,  it  will  be  possible  to 
do   away  with   those   drawbacks  which    unfortunately  exist 


540  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

to  the  detriment  of  most  foundations.  Thus  the  present 
returns  and  value  of  the  foundational  property  would  be 
insured,  while  under  common  farm  management  it  would 
sink  to  the  common  yield  and  value  of  the  capital,  to  the 
loss  of  the  national  revenue. 

In  addition  to  this,  immediately  after  my  death,  six  prac- 
tical learners  will  be  received  and  supported,  and  after 
three  years  supplanted  by  others. 

In  case  of  the  death  of  my  heirs  and  issue,  the  whole 
foundation  fund  will  fall  to  the  nation  for  the  establishment 
of  an  Agricultural  College,  where,  also,  the  industries  con- 
nected with  agriculture  would  be  taught  according  to  prin- 
ciples determined  by  myself. 

For  this  1  have  no  doubt  of  the  royal  assent,  since  the 
purpose  is  entirely  directed  towards  the  general  good. 

Part  II.  —  Forestry. 

At  the  north-western  extremity  of  the  grounds,  there  was 
an  interesting  display  of  the  results  of  the  cultivation  of 
forest  trees.  Here,  huge  trees,  stripped  of  all  branches, 
were  lying  side  by  side,  and  trees  of  smaller  sizes  were  also 
exhibited  ;  these  had  been  cut  in  such  lengths  as  would  allow 
of  transportation,  and  were  so  placed  as  to  show  the  full  size 
of  the  original  tree.  A  great  variety  of  wood  was  here 
represented,  which  was  remarkable  for  its  perfection  of 
growth  and  clearness  of  grain.  Collections  of  manufactured 
articles,  both  useful  and  ornamental,  made  from  the  various 
woods,  were  exhibited  in  neighboring  sheds  and  houses,  the 
latter  being  entirely  constructed  of  wood. 

The  whole  system  of  preparing  the  wood  for  market  was 
also  represented  by  models  displaying  the  successive  opera- 
tions from  the  time  it  was  felled  in  the  forests.  One  plan, 
by  which  the  logs  are  sometimes  conveyed,  in  the  absence  of 
water-courses,  and  where  neither  wagons  nor  sleds  are 
employed,  seems  worthy  of  explanation.  A  wire-rope  tram- 
way is  suspended  on  firmly  fixed  supporters,  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  wire-rope  forms  a  single  track,  upon  which  trucks 
run,  and  from  the  trucks  are  suspended,  by  blocks  and  ropes, 
the  logs  to  be  conveyed.  When  the  logs  go  down  hill,  their 
weight  furnishes  the  power  for  returning  the  empty  trucks, 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.       541 

by  the  aid  of  a  rope  attached  to  each  set,  and  passing  over  a 
wheel  at  the  upper  end  of  the  tramway.  The  speed  can  be 
regulated  by  a  "brake"  at  the  end  of  the  tramway,  and  when 
the  weight  of  the  logs  cannot  be  used  for  power,  a  steam- 
engine,  stationed  at  one  extremity,  can  be  used  to  effect  the 
same  purpose.  It  is  evident  that  two  tracks  must  be  used,  in 
the  first  case,  one  to  carry  the  logs,  and  the  other  the  empty 
trucks,  and  with  steam-power  this  plan  would  also  seem  to  be 
more  economical. 

Much  of  the  wood  exhibited  was  the  result  of  plantations, 
while  much  was  also  from  natural  forests  that  had  been  syste- 
matically treated  under  the  superintendence  of  educated 
foresters.  Nurseries  of  young  trees  of  different  varieties 
were  also  exhibited,  showing  how  these  were  treated  from  the 
time  of  planting  the  seed  until  they  could  be  separately  set 
out. 

It  has  been  frequently  and  most  truly  said,  by  many  writers 
who  have  had  the  welfare  of  our  country  at  heart,  that  there 
is  much  poor  land  in  Massachusetts  that  is  either  in  pasturage 
or  under  cultivation,  which  would  be  much  more  profitably 
employed  if  judiciously  planted  with  forest  trees ;  and  this 
fact  has  been  greatly  ignored  by  farmers,  to  their  own  loss. 

You  may  say  that  the  planter  of  the  trees  will  derive  no 
profit  from  them,  and  this  may,  or  may  not,  be  true,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances.  But  many,  perhaps  most,  of  our 
farmers  would  be  better  off  if  they  would  cultivate,  at  least, 
half  as  much  land  as  at  present,  plant  the  remainder  judi- 
ciously with  trees,  and  apply  yearly  the  same  amount  of 
manure  to  one-half  the  amount  of  land,  thereby  doubling  the 
amount  applied  per  acre.  In  some  cases  I  would  advise  a  still 
greater  increase  of  the  amount  of  manure,  when  possible. 
I  believe,  by  adopting  such  a  system,  their  increased  profits 
would  allow  them  to  increase  the  manure.  Trees  could  also 
be  so  planted  as  to  afford  protection  from  winds  to  cultivated 
fields,  and  thus  prevent  the  drying  of  the  soil  and  injury  to 
crops  that  exist  on  bleak  and  exposed  land. 

In  this  way  the  real  value  of  the  farms  would  be  increasing 
every  year  from  the  growth  of  wood,  and  higher  cultivation 
of  the  remainder  would  increase  the  yearly  profits  consider- 
ably. • 


542  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

To  ascertain  the  best  varieties  to  plant,  and  the  methods  of 
planting,  I  would  refer  the  reader  to  the  valuable  and  instruc- 
tive work  of  George  B.  Emerson,  Esq.,  and  other  kindred 
works.  Mr.  Emerson's  work  is  now  out  of  print,  but  can  be 
seen  in  our  most  prominent  libraries.  It  is  a  book  that 
ought  to  be  always  for  sale,  and  a  republication  should  be 
urged,  especially  when  the  planting  of  trees  is  so  generally 
recommended  as  a  source  of  great  benefit  to  our  State. 

Agricultural  and.  Forestry  Congress. 

I  take  the  following  extracts  from  the  Discussions  and 
Lecture,  at  the  Meetings  of  the  Agricultural  and  Forestry 
Congress,  held  at  Vienna  during  last  September,  which 
received  high  commendation  there,  and  which,  in  general, 
seem  to  also  apply  to  our  needs  in  Massachusetts.  These 
were  also  translated  for  me  by  Mr.  N.  L.  Derby. 

During  the  discussion  of  the  subject  "What  measures  are 
to  be  taken  for  the  protection  of  those  birds,  useful  in  cultiva- 
tion?" Dr.  Brehm,  of  Berlin,  said: — 

"That  we  ourselves  are  reallj^  to  blame  for  the  great  increase  in 
harmful  birds  and  animals,  since  we,  for  instance,  plant  the  same 
sort  of  tree  over  miles  of  territory,  and  thus  give  the  woods  over  to 
the  ravages  of  a  single  variety  of  these.  We  exterminate,  further, 
ever}^  tree,  hedge  and  bush  on  our  fields,  when  every  grove  and 
hedge  is  a  dwelling  for  our  most  industrious  assistants,  whom  we 
now  simply  turn  out  of  doors  and  deprive  of  their  breeding-places. 
(Bravo  !  from  the  Congress.)  We  should  therefore  try  to  preserve 
every  strip  of  wood  on  our  fields  ;  especially  should  we  protect  the 
starling  as  fully  as  possible,  i.  e.,  we  should  place  bird-houses  for 
them  in  all  woods,  trees  and  gardens."  *  *  *  *  "The  most 
eflflcacious  means  of  protecting  birds  consists  in  teaching  the 
people  ;  by  the  publication  of  a  good  book,  treating  of  the  matter, 
it  could  be  shown  that  it  is  for  the  general  advantage."  (Supported.) 

Dr.  Blomeyer,   of  Leipzig,  said  : — 

"It  is  certainly  not  our  object  to  propose  laws  which  the  various 
governments  are  requested  to  accept.  We  can  only  establish 
general  principles ;  culture,  morals  and  education  will  be  of  more 
service  than  any  laws."  He  asks  "  the  Congress  to  declare  that  every 
form  of  advanced  civilization  demands  the  protection  of  birds." 
(Supported.) 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        543 

Those  gentlemeD,  who  took  part  in  the  discussion  on  this 
subject,  were  constituted  a  committee  to  present  a  proposal 
the  following  day,  and,  after  long  discussion,  they  united  on 
the  following : — 

"  The  International  Congress  of  Proprietors  of  Land  and  Forest, 
resolves :  that  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Austrian  Government  shall 
be  requested  to  provide  for  the  protection  of  birds  useful  to  the  farmer, 
by  means  of  international  treaties  with  all  the  European  States,  in 
accordance  with  the  following  provisions:  1.  The  capture  and 
destruction  of  birds  living  upon  insects  are  unconditionally  for- 
bidden. 2.  It  is  desirable  that  a  special  catalogue  of  birds  to  be 
protected  should  be  prepared  by  an  international  commission  of 
experts.  2.  The  capture  of  those  birds  living  principally  on  grain 
is  allowed,  except  in  the  closed  time,  lasting  from  the  first  of  March 
to  the  fifteenth  of  September.  4.  The  capture  of  birds  with  snares 
and  traps,  of  whatever  sort,  as  also  by  the  use  of  bird-lime,  is 
entirely  forbidden.  5.  The  removal  of  the  eggs  and  young,  or  the 
destruction  of  the  nests  of  all  birds,  except  those  of  harmful 
varieties,,  is  forbidden;  the  preparation  of  a  catalogue  of  these 
harmful  birds  shall  also  be  conducted  by  the  commission  mentioned 
above.  6.  The  sale  of  live  or  dead  insect-eating  birds  is  forbidden 
at  all  times,  as  also  the  sale  of  all  varieties  of  birds  during  the  close 
time ;  this  prohibition  includes  also  the  sale  of  the  nests  of  the 
birds  mentioned.  7.  Exceptions  to  the  above  mentioned  provisions 
can  be  permitted  at  all  times  for  purely  scientific  purposes." 

These  proposals  were  accepted  by  a  large  majority. 

Upon  the  discussion  of  the  subject  of  the  second  day,  "In 
what  way  is  it  best  for  nationalities  to  unite  in  methods  of 
collecting  agricultural  and  forestry  statistics,  and  what  par- 
ticular branches  of  statistics  should  be  collected  in  common, 
for  the  purpose  of  comparison,"  the  ministerial  counsellor, 
Dr.  J.  R.  Lorenz,  made  an  exhaustive  and  concise  address, 
which  was  received  with  general  favor.  Among  other  things, 
he  strongly  advised,  in  general,  "in  all  cases,  the  use  of  the 
metrical  system  of  weights  and  measures." 

In  Europe,  the  basis  of  successful  farming  is  a  careful 
system  of  keeping  farm  statistics  and  accounts,  and  it  would 
be  impossible  for  our  agriculturists  to  over-value  such 
systems. 

On  this  subject.  Dr.  Meitzeu,  private  governmental  coun- 


544  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

sellor,  of  Berlin,  advanced  certain  proposals,  differing  in 
part,  but  not  essentially,  from  those  of  Dr.  Lorenz  (but 
being  shorter,  I  give  them  preference  here) ,  and  having  thor- 
oughly discussed  them,  offered  the  following  resolution  : — 

"  The  International  Congress  of  Cultivators  of  Land  and  Forest 
is  of  the  opinion  that  land  and  forest  cultivation  cannot,  without 
disadvantage,  dispense  with  exact  and  statistical  comparable  data 
of  its  condition  and  progress  in  the  diflferent  civilized  states  i  that 
the  previous  exertions  on  the  part  of  the  International  Statistical 
Bureaus  have  proved  insufficient  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  the 
same  ;  that  the  necessary  comparable  results  are  rather  to  be  expected 
from  investigations  whose  field,  although  limited,  is  clearly  and 
fixedl}^  determined  b}'  the  separate  governments  unitedly  and  inter- 
nationally, and  whose  reciprocal  interchange  and  communication  is 
insured  by  the  same." 

Therefore,  the  International  Congress  of  Cultivators  of 
Land  and  Forest  requests  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Austrian 
Government,  "to  take  measures  to  bring  about  international 
unity  of  action  in  advancing  the  statistics  of  land  and  forest." 

"While  recognizing  the  points  of  assistance  in  bringing 
about  such  unity  in  the  memorial  laid  before  the  congress  on 
this  question,  the  speaker  recommends  "an  investigation 
about  once  in  ten  years,  and  to  be  undertaken  at  the  same 
time  by  all  states,  if  possible."  This  should  determine  the 
areas,  at  least  approximately,  and  determined  separately  for 
as  small  districts  as  possible,  of  land  devoted  to  the  general 
varieties  of  productions  of  land  and  forest,  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  most  important  sorts  of  produce,  and  the  yield  of  an 
average  harvest  of  these  sorts.  Further,  it  should  ascertain 
the  areas  of  the  different  varieties  of  forest  and  the  amount 
of  timber  contained  therein,  the  amount  of  stock,  the  number 
of  cattle  slaughtered,  and  finally,  the  approximate  number  of 
farms  and  of  farming  population. 

He  further  thinks  it  well  to  recommend  that  this  inter- 
national unity  of  action  should  extend  to  the  early  intercom- 
munication of  the  following  facts,  which  should  be  compara- 
tively and  concisely  given,  at  least  once  a  year.  These  are 
the  results  of  the  harvests ;  the  market  and  exchange  rates  of 
the  productions  of  land  and  forest,  the  cost  of  transportation 


REPORT  or  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        545 

per  hundred-weight  aud  mile  on  raih-oads,  highways  and  bv 
water ;  the  daily  wages  of  the  laborers ;  the  discount  on 
credit;  the  movement  of  purchases  and  leases.  These  should 
be  officially  ascertained  or  determined  with  proper  accuracy, 
in  the  manner  usual  in  the  special  countries.  The  proposals 
of  the  speaker  were  warmly  seconded. 

Prof.  Dr.  F.  X.  Neumann,  of  Vienna,  governmental 
counsellor,  speaking  in  praise  of  what  had  been  said,  also 
remarked  that  "  the  introduction  of  common  agraria-statistical 
investigations,  with  the  present  organization  of  the  cultivation 
of  land  and  traffic  in  the  produce  of  the  soil,  is  no  longer  a 
theoretical  matter,  but  one  of  practical  signification.  The 
knowledge  or  ignorance  of  these  conditions  aiFects  the  pros- 
perity and  misery  of  many  millions  of  beings."  The  speaker 
proves  most  minutely,  by  the  example  of  grain  traffic  and 
the  prices  of  rye,  the  results  upon  national  economy  which 
good  or  bad  statistical  investigations  can  produce. 

In  a  lecture  delivered  by  Dr.  A.  E.  Brehm  before  the 
International  Congress,  ou  "Our  treatment  of  the  soil  and  the 
birds,"  he  says  : — 

"  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  with  a  coincidence  of  favoring 
conditions,  an  increase  of  vermin  can  ensue  which  calls  to  mind  the 
Egj'ptian  plagues.  On  the  other  hand,  we  drive  away,  in  many 
cases,  utterly,  the  enemies  of  the  vermin,  and  this  too  by  our 
methods  of  cultivation,  since  we  deprive  them,  if  not  of  life,  yet  of 
dwellings,  i.  e.,  of  places  for  building  their  nests  and  breeding.  It 
is  seldom  that  we  occupy  ourselves  directly  with  the  nurture  of  the 
injurious  sorts,  and  the  destruction  of  the  useful  ones  ;  but  indirectly 
we  protect  the  former  and  destroy  the  latter,  without,  however, 
giving  the  world  the  right  to  call  us  thoughtless  or  malicious.  We 
keep  one  end  and  aim,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  before  our  eyes. 
This  arises  from  lacking  perception  of  what  is  right,  not  from  inten- 
tional neglect  of  the  existing  conditions,  and  deserves  to  be  excused, 
if  not  defended.  Friendly  and  earnest  instruction  is  therefore  more 
appropriate  than  the  reproaches  which  Gloger  addresses  to  all  culti- 
vators of  land  and  forest." 

He  also  says  : — 

"I  must  assert,  that  the  direct  persecution  of  our  destroyers  of 
vermin,  resulting  from  the  failure  to  recognize  their  activity  and 


546  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

usefulness,  is  far  less  injurious  to  them  than  the  removal  of  their 
resting  and  breeding-places,  which  is  most  intimately  connected  with 
the  methods  of  cultivation  common  with  us.  The  e3'e  follows  miles 
of  the  most  luxurious  soil  turned  into  fertile  fields,  without  meeting 
a  tree  or  a  bush,  not  to  speak  of  hedges  or  groves.  Every  foot  of 
land  is  ploughed  over,  and  even  the  shade  of  the  single  trees  along 
the  roadways  is  regarded  with  jealousy.  In  our  cultivated  woods, 
especially  in  those  upon  which  the  forester  looks  with  satisfaction, 
it  is  not  much  better.  No  old  tree  disturbs  the  regularity  of  the 
growing  thickets  ;  no  knottj^  half-decaj-ed  veteran,  rich  in  hollows 
and  hiding-places,  is  tolerated  in  the  midst  of  the  young  wood,  and 
that  read}^  for  felling.  We  calculate  also  here,  and  miss  our  mark 
as  before.  The  old  orchard  tree  does  not  bear  enough  fruit,  it  is 
true,  to  compensate  for  the  loss  of  grain  occasioned  by  its  shade  ; 
the  hedge,  tolerated  formerly  as  the  home  of  the  partridge,  does  not 
yield  fuel  or  brush  sufficient  to  show  a  profit ;  the  grove  in  the  midst 
of  the  fields  disturbs  the  cultivation  of  the  adjacent  land ;  the  half- 
rotten  veteran  in  the  forest  is  a  loss  to  the  woodman ;  but  the  tree 
and  the  hedge  or  thicket  served  various  birds  as  dwelling  and 
shelter,  as  breeding  and  setting-places,  and  amply  repaid  their  main- 
tenance, yielding  a  much  larger  profit  than  many  cultivators  of  forest 
and  land  seem  to  think  possible.  All  birds  attach  themselves  to 
their  breeding-places  .in  especial,  and  to  their  roosts  with  great 
tenacity,  and,  driven  from  them  only  with  difficulty,  when  they  are 
no  longer  disturbed,  are  sure  to  return  in  a  short  time  ;  but  if 
these  resorts  are  destroyed,  they  leave  the  unfriendl}^  land  and 
emigrate.  To  this  fact,  proven  by  frequent  observation,  I  lay  the 
decrease  of  our  useful  birds.  Our  forests  and  fields  are  each  year 
deprived  of  more  and  more  appropriate  breeding-places  for  birds, 
and  thus  the  latter  diminish  constantly'  in  number." 

"  What  measures,"  he  says,  "are  now  to  be  taken  for  the  protec- 
tion of  those  birds  useful  to  the  cultivator  of  the  soil  ?  The  answer 
is  certainly  :  Onl^'  those  which  promise  actual  results.  The  first  of 
all  practical  measures  I  consider  to  be  the  general  instruction  of  the 
people  in  regard  to  the  nature  and  habits  of  our  own  animals,  and 
especially  of  our  birds  ;  the  improvement  and  development  of  instruc- 
tion in  the  natural  sciences;  the  introduction  of  a  more  or  less 
extended  course  of  natural  history  and  botany  in  all  our  primary 
and  other  schools,  dealing  particularly  with  the  usefulness  of  plants 
and  animals  ;  the  assistance  and  incitement  of  all  rational  exertions 
on  the  part  of  societies  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals ; 
the  diffusion  of  general  information  on  this  subject  by  presentation 
of  gcjod  works  by  the  governments  and  by  all  associations  for  the 
general  good,  especially  the  distribution  of  a  concise  text-book  with 


REPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        547 

good  illustrations  representing  animals  and  plants  indigenous  to  our 
countr}',  to  all  employes  connected  with  forestry,  village  school 
teachers,  couutr}^  parsons,  head  selectmen  or  judges,  and  other 
proper  personages  ;  and  finall}',  the  establishment  of  small  collec- 
tions in  schools  for  the  use  of  the  pupils.  .•  .  .  .  Without  a 
sufficient  acquaintance  with  the  animals,  their  nature  and  habits, 
their  working  for  or  against  our  interests,  we  are  not  benefited  by 
any  exhortation  to  the  protection  of  those  which  aid  us,  for  man  is 
much  more  inclined  to  destroy  than  to  protect.  As  knowledge 
increases,  so  increases  also  our  interest  for  the  animals,  and  with  the 
latter  arise  the  inclination  and  effort  to  protect  where  we  should 
protect,  and  to  destroy  where  destruction  is  necessar}^  to  insure  the 
safety  of  the  useful  animals.  A  mere  acquaintance  with  the  external 
appearance  of  a  bird  is  insufficient ;  we  must  be  instructed  also  in 
regard  to  his  relation  to  other  (birds  and)  animals,  in  order  to  be 
able  to  appreciate  his  working  and  activit}' ;  we  should  also  stud}'  his 

dependence   upon   the   vegetable    kingdom The   best 

thing  will  ever  remain  the  safeguard  of  universal  intelligence.  He 
who  has  become  really  acquainted  with  their  life,  nature,  habits  and 
works  will  be  in  a  condition  to  do  what  is  proper  for  their  protection 
in  a  given  case ;  he  who  does  not  know  them  will  perhaps  display 
friendl}'  feeling,  but  onl}^  exceptionally  give  them  the  proper  aid. 
I  therefore  place  the  diffusion  of  ornithological  information  before 
every  other  measure." 

Experiraenal  forestry  stations  are  at  present  in  existence  in 
different  parts  of  Austria,  Germany  and  elsewhere  in  Europe, 
where  carefully  prepared  plans  for  investigation  in  this  branch 
.are  constantly  being  followed,  with  a  view  to  increase,  as 
much  as  possible,  knowledge,  as  to  the  proper  treatment  of 
forests  which  will  make  them  yield  the  greatest  benefit.  In 
conversation  with  some  of  the  most  prominent  men  connected 
with  forestry  in  Austria,  I  was  told  that  the  effects  of  forestry 
on  climate,  although  it  has  been  long  studied  in  Germany 
with  the  greatest  possible  care,  was  yet  unsettled.  Strenuous 
efforts  are  being  made  to  improve  the  means  of  investigating 
this  subject  throughout  Europe,  by  international  action  in  the 
matter. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  the  congress,  upon  the  subject, 
"What  points  in  the  conduction  of  experimental  forestry 
call  for  the  establishment  of  an  international  system  of  ob- 


548  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

servatiou  ?  "  Dr.  Seckendorff  addressed  the  following  propo- 
sals to  the  congress  :  — 

"  1.  The  governments  of  the  different  countries  shall  he  recom- 
mended to  advance  experimental  forestry  with  all  the  means  stand- 
ing at  their  command. 

"  2.  Valuable  results  are  only  to  be  expected  when  the  highest 
chiefs  of  experimental  bureaus  can  put  into  proper  form,  for  the 
necessities  of  forestry  science,  the  material  accumulating  so  rapidly 
in  a  short  period.  It  is  therefore  desirable  that  only  such  experts 
shall  be  appointed  as  chiefs  who,  if  necessary,  can  devote  their 
entire  power  and  time  to  this  important  subject. 

"  3.  As  soon  as  experimental  forestry  has  come  into  existence  in  a 
given  land,  it  is  for  the  interests  of  the  matter  that  the  experimental 
directors  or  chiefs  be  caused  by  the  government  to  enter  into  rela- 
tions with  the  directors  of  previously  existing  experimental  institu- 
tions, in  order  to  determine  the  objects  to  be  investigated  which  call 
for  international  treatment,  and  to  consider  in  common  the  methods 
of  investigation. 

"  4.  An  international  system  of  investigation  and  observation  is 
called  for  by  those  questions  in  experimental  forestry  which  pertain 
to  the  influence  which  the  forest  has  on  climate,  rain,  spring  forma- 
tion, inundations,  etc." 

The  immediate  international  investigation  of  these  matters 
seems  all  the  more  necessary,  as  only  after  the  full  settlement 
of  the  same,  the  so-called  question  of  forestry  preservation 
can  be  properly  answered. 

The  subject  of  the  fifth  day's  sitting  was,  "What  interna- 
tional miity  of  action  seems  necessary  in  order  to  put  an  end 
to  the  increasing  devastation  of  forests  ?  "  Dr.  A.  Bernhardt, 
of  Neustadt  Eberswalde,  offered  the  following  proposals,  to 
which,  besides  introductory  remarks,  he  added  suggestions 
as  to  the  preliminary  arrangements  for  the  assembling  of 
future  congresses  at  regular  intervals  of  time  : — 

"1,  It  is  acknowledged  that  international  unity  of  action  is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  take  successful  steps  towards  the  prevention  of  the 
increasing  devastation  of  woods,  especially  towards  preserving  and 
properly  cultivating  those  woods  which  lie  in  the  regions  of  springs 
and  on  the  banks  of  large  streams.  For  by  their  destruction  at  will, 
commerce  and  the  industries  can  be  greatly  affected  through  injuri- 
ous variations  in  the  height  of  the  waters,  changes  in  the  beds  of 


EEPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        549 

streams,  falling  in  of  the  banks,  and  inundations  of  the  territories 
devoted  to  agriculture,  all  of  which  can  extend  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  particular  countr}^  in  which  they  originate. 

"2.  It  is  further  recognized  that  that  branch  of  cultivation  which 
deals  with  the  preservation  and  proper  treatment  of  other  woods 
important  .in  cultivation,  such  as  lie  upon  drift-land,  summits, 
ridges  and  steep  mountain-slopes,  on  the  sea-coast  and  other  ex- 
posed positions,  is  an  important  subject  of  consideration  for  all  civ- 
ilized nations,  and  that  universal  principles  must  be  agreed  upon 
which  can  be  applied  to  protect  the  cultivation  of  all  countries  from 
the  injuries  caused  by  the  proprietors  of  such  protective  woods. 

"3.  It  is  finally  recognized  that,  at  present,  a  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  those  disturbances  of  cultivation  which  are,  and  can  be, 
produced  by  destruction  of  woods,  is  not  at  hand,  and  that  therefore 
a  sufficient  foundation  is  lacking  upon  which  we  can  build  up  the 
desirable  legislator}^  measures." 

Dr.  Judeich,  of  Tharaud,  in  furtherance  of  Dr.  Bernhardt's 
proposals,  said : — 

"  Laws  for  the  protection  of  woods  will  never  have  the  desired 
effect.  The  state  should  be  the  only  proprietor  of  protective  woods, 
and  should  also  care  for  them  itself.  The  most  important  task  for 
the  congress  is  to  attempt  a  collection  of  statistical  data." 

He  moved  that  the  following  be  incorporated  in  Dr.  Bern- 
hardt's proposals  : — 

"In  order  to  secure  this  foundation  (of  congresses) ,  and  to  assist 
further  international  treatment  of  the  question  of  the  protection  of 
woods,  the  Imperial  and  Ro^^al  Austrian  Government  is  requested 
to  enter  into  correspondence  with  the  governments  concerned,  to 
collect  statistical  data  of  the  position,  extent  and  nature  of  the  ex- 
isting protective  woods,  and  to  consider  this  as  its  most  important 
and  nearest  aim." 

These  remarks  were  supported,  after  being  accepted  by 
Dr.  Bernhardt,  and  finally  a  part  of  them  were  accepted  by  a 
unanimous  vote,  and  the  remainder  by  a  large  majority  of  the 
congress. 

Immediately  afterwards  the  proposals  in  regard  to  the 
question  of  experimental  agriculture  were  voted  upon  in  the 
following  form,  and  accepted  by  a  unanimous  vote  ; — 


550  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

"  I.  There  are  numerous  questions  in  experimental  agriculture 
which  can  only  be  solved  by  an  international  system  of  observation, 
or  whose  solution  can  be  made  by  such  a  system  in  the  best  manner 
and  that  most  compatible  with  the  interests  of  agriculture.  As  such 
questions  for  united  investigation  are  to  be  recommended : — 

"  1 .  Analysis  of  atmospheric  deposits,  to  ascertain  their  proportion 
of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  in  which  connection  the  meteorological 
and  local  conditions  and  time  of  making  the  experiment  are  to  be 
observed  as  far  as  practicable.     (Solution  of  the  nitrogen  question.) 

"2.  Determination  of  the  power  of  absorption  possessed  b}^  culti- 
vated soils,  with  regard  paid  to  their  chemical  and  physical  nature 
(mechanical  and  chemical  analysis  of  soils),  as  well  as  the  influence 
of  manure  upon  absorption. 

"  3.  Attempts  to  settle  the  question  of  agricultural  hydrotechnics 
(laying  out  of  h^'drotechnical  gardens  for  study). 

"  4.  Anal}' sis  of  the  agricultural!}'  important  seed  and  grain  of  dif- 
ferent countries  and  localities,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  their 
nutritious  and  commercial  value. 

"  5.  Settling  the  influence  which  food  and  race  exert  upon  the  quan- 
tity and  constituents  of  milk  produced,  as  well  as  on  the  fattening 
of  stock. 

"  6.  Estimate  of  the  fseces,  seed,  and  eggs  of  the  silk-worm. 

"  7.  Attempts  to  produce  diflferent  varieties  of  plants  from  the 
same  seeds  under  different  conditions  of  cultivation  (acclimatization). 

"  II.  For  the  purpose  of  investigating  these  matters,  the  govern- 
ments are  to  be  requested  to  complete  the  number  of  agricultural 
experimenting  stations  and  '  to  supply  them  with  the  necessary 
material. 

"  III.  The  chiefs  of  the  agricultural  experimenting  stations, 
assisted  by  the  delegates  of  the  respective  governments,  are  to  meet 
in  periodical  international  assemblage  in  order  to  deliberate  together 
upon  the  investigations  to  be  conducted  in  common,  the  appropriate 
methods  of  research  and  the  united  publication  of  data. 

"  IV.  The  request  is  to  be  addressed  to  the  Imperial  and  Royal 
Austrian  Agricultural  Ministry,  that  it  will  be  pleased  to  undertake 
the  steps  which  seem  to  it  proper  in  order  to  effect  the  execution  of 
the  proposals  under  I.  and  II." 

The  representative  of  France,  M.  Boitel,  at  the  close  of  the 
session  offered,  a  proposition,  "that  an  international  congress 
of  cultivators  of  laud  and  forest  be  called  together  at  London, 


EEPOET  OF  MR.  FEANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        551 

in  1875  ;  this  congress  should  consist  of  the  delegates  of  gov- 
ernment and  of  the  more  important  societies  of  land  and 
forest  cultivators."  A  sketch  of  a  proposed  programme  was 
then  given,  which  refers  to  the  most  prominent  matters  that 
must  necessarily  come  up  before  such  a  meeting.  This  prop- 
osition was  accepted  unanimously,  after  a  few  unimportant 
modifications. 

In  European  schools  we  find  that  natural  history  holds  a 
much  more  prominent  part  in  education  than  in  the  United 
States.  The  works  of  nature  are  made  more  the  basis  of 
knowledge,  and,  after  children  have  become  acquainted  with 
them,  then  the  other  important  studies  are  made  more  prom- 
inent. 

Beet-Root. 

When  the  results  of  careful  study  and  research  have  been 
well  expressed,  it  is  better  to  collect  and  repeat  the  words  of 
others  rather  than  to  attempt  to  convey  the  same  idea  by 
new  forms. 

Mr.  William  Crookes,  F.R.S.,  in  his  book  on  the  "  Manu- 
facture of  Beet-Root  Sugar,"  published  at  London,  1870, 
says  in  the  preface  : — 

"  It  is  calculated  that  a  proportion  of  8.5  (per  cent.)  of  crystal- 
lizable  sugar  will  pay,  and  in  some  instances  comprised  within  the 
range  of  the  experiments  there  was  a  yield  of  10.91  and  8.94  (per 
cent.).  That  the  magnitude  of  the  industrj^  is  sufficient  to  warrant 
operations  on  the  largest  scale  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  last  year 
France  alone  produced  no  less  than  300,000  tons  of  beet  sugar, 
which  at  £25*  ($125)  per  ton  would  be  worth  £7,500,000 
($37,500,000),  the  molasses  (100,000  tons  at  £5)  bringing  up  the 
value  to  £8,000,000  ($40,000,000)." 

In  referring  to  climate  he  says  : — 

"Few  of  our  cultivated  plants  thrive  under  more  varied  con- 
ditions of  climate  than  the  beet.  The  relative  season  for  sowing, 
for  it  to  be  harvested  at  the  right  time,  can  be  so  regulated  b}'  the 
intelligent  cultivator,  according  to  the  degree  of  latitude,  as  to  suit 
the  exigencies  of  the  manufacturer. 

"  Heat  and  moisture  being  needed  in  considerable  quantities  for 
its  perfect  development,  very  cold  or  very  dry  localities  will  alone 

*  For  tlie  above  calculations  I  have  allowed  $5  to  the  English  pound. 


552  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

prove  antagonistic  to  its  profitable  production  as  a  sugar  plant ; 
but  beet  does  not  need  a  brilliant  sky,  or  much  light  and  heat. 
Light  has  comparatively  little  to  do  with  producing  its  saccharine 
matter,  for  this  is  formed,  not  in  the  portion  above  ground  (where 
the  saline  particles  gather),  but  in  that  beneath.  A  moist  climate 
with  moderate  sun  is  what  it  requires. 

"  The  seed  germinates  at  a  temperature  of  44°  F. ;  the  root  rots 
on  thawing  if  exposed  to  a  cold  much  below  the  freezing  point." 

Dr.  Voelcker,  chemist  for  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society 
of  England  says  ; — 

"  The  cultivation  of  the  beet-root  sugar  in  the  north  of  Germany 
has  tended  more  than  anything  else  to  raise  the  general  agriculture 
of  large  districts  of  country,  and  it  would  produce  a  similar  efiect 
in  England. 

"  The  tendency  of  the  sugar-beet  is  to  go  into  the  soil,  but  only 
when  the  latter  is  properly  prepared.  It  is  sometimes  said  that 
if  beet  grows  out  of  the  soil  the  seed  cannot  be  of  the  right  sort ; 
but  this  is  a  mistake,  for  if  the  soil  and  the  subsoil  are  badly 
worked,  the  root  will  come  out  even  if  the  right  kind  of  seed  is 
grown. 

"  In  making  an  analysis  of  beet-root  grown  in  England,  Dr. 
Voelcker  found  that  while  the  percentage  of  sugar  in  a  portion  of 
the  root  covered  by  the  soil  was  8^  per  cent.,  in  a  portion  which 
grew  above  the  soil  the  percentage  was  only  4  per  cent.,  or  about 
one-half. 

"  The  best  soil  must  be  loose,  fresh,  and  free  from  stones." 

Respecting  the  most  suitable  soil,  Mr.  Baruchson,  in  his 
work  on   "Beet-Root  Sugar,"  published    at   London,  1868, 

says  :— 

"  The  land  most  suitable  for  growing  beet  is  that  on  which  the 
soil  is  free  from  peat  and  salt,  but  is  rich,  light  and  loam3\  Clay 
land  is  too  cold  ;  the  roots  do  not  easil}^  penetrate  it,  and  they 
would  be  deficient  in  saccharine  matter.  On  moorland  and  heavy 
marsh  land,  the  result  is  the  same  ;  nor  does  dry,  sandy  soil,  or 
soil  with  a  hard,  rocky  bottom,  yield  a  satisfactory  crop.  Stony 
ground  also  is  to  be  avoided,  as  it  cannot  be  thoroughly  worked, 
while  ground  newly  cleared  contains  matter  detrimental  to  the 
sugar-producing  power  of  the  beet.  ...  As  this  root  takes 
up  3  to  4  per  cent,  of  mineral  salts,  lime,  potash,  and  soda,  and 


EEPORT  OF  MR.  FRANCIS  H.  APPLETON.        553 

as  the  bases  of  these  may  interchange  with  one  another,  all 
attempts  to  make  good  sugar  from  the  products  of  salt  lands,  soil 
too  much  manured,  or  ground  recently  cleared  of  timber,  are 
certain  to  be  entirely  futile.  Sloping  land,  of  moderate  elevation, 
will  give  the  best  result.  The  most  suitable  soil  for  the  purpose 
would  be  that  which  should  contain  four  parts  mould,  fifty-six 
argil,  thirty-six  silex,  and  four  carbonate  of  lime." 

Dr.  Voelcker,  in  his  paper.  "  On  the  Chemistry  of  the 
Sngar-Beet,"  remarks  : — 

"  Like  other  grown  crops  the  sugar-beet,  although  not  equally 
well  adapted  for  every  kind  of  soil,  is  nevertheless  grown  on  land 
varying  greatly  as  regards  depth,  texture,  and  general  physical  and 
chemical  properties.  It  may,  however,  be  observed  at  once,  that  all 
soils  incapable  of  being  cultivated  to  a  depth  of  at  least  sixteen 
inches,  are  unsuited  for  the  growth  of  sugar-beet,  which,  unlike  the 
ordinary  3'ellow  globe  mangel,  grows  almost  entirel}^  under  ground, 
and  therefore  cannot  be  cultivated  with  advantage  on  very  shallow 
soils.  Peaty  soils,  and,  more  or  less,  all  soils,  in  a  bad  state  of 
cultivation,  are  unsuitable  for  its  cultivation.  The  chief  requisites 
in  soil  upon  which  this  crop  is  intended  to  be  raised,  are  a 
sufficient  depth  and  ready  penetrability  by  the  plant.  ...  A 
moderate  or  even  large  amount  of  claj",  far  from  being  an  undesir- 
able element,  is  ver}-  useful  for  this  crop,  provided  the  land  is  well 
worked  and  the  clay  has  become  friable  by  exposure  to  the  air,  and 
by  general  good  management." 

Under  the  head  of  "Manures  and  Fertilizers,"  Dr.  Belcker 
is  quoted  as  saying :  "  There  is  no  soil  so  well  suited  for  beets 
as  a  good,  well-worked,  deeply-cultivated,  and  thoroughly- 
drained  clay-loam;  or,  in  other  words,  a  soil  containing  a 
good  deal  of  clay,  with  a  fair  proportion  of  sand.  Most  good 
clay-loams  contain  sufficient  lime  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  beet-root  crop."  "  On  land  deficient  in  lime  the  sugar-beet 
is  apt  to  get  fingered  and  toed,  and  hence  care  should  be 
taken  before  taking  the  land  in  hand  for  the  cultivation  of 
this  crop  to  ascertain  whether  it  contains  a  fair  proportion  of 
lime." 

Sour-Fodder. 

This  is  a  kind  of  "  sour-hay,"  which  is  used  in  Hungary, 
and  consists  of  our  ordinary  fodder-corn,  cut  green  and  placed 
70 


554  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

immediately  in  large  pits,  where  it  remains,  covered  with 
earth,  until  it  is  wanted  for  use.  It  was  very  highly  prized 
by  those  who  used  it,  and  was  much  relished  by  the  cattle. 
At  my  suggestion  it  was  described  by  an  Austrian  agricultu- 
rist in  the  November  number  of  the  "  American  Agricultu- 
rist," and  was  also  copied  in  the  "  Essex  Agricultural  Society's 
Transactions,"  for  1873,  and  is  well  worthy  of  examination 
and  criticism. 

My  Austrian  friend  has  also  recently  written  to  me  that 
another  sour-fodder,  probably  also  unknown  in  America,  was 
cured  by  them  (on  the  Archduke  Albrecht's  estate)  in  the 
autumn  of  1873,  when  about  5,000  cwt.  of  sugar-beets  were 
made  into  sour-fodder  in  the  following  manner  :  "  We  hauled  in 
the  sugar-beets  from  the  fields,  washed  and  cut  them,  then  we 
mixed  the  cut  beets  with  some  chafi"  in  the  proportion  of  one 
cwt.  chaff  to  ten  cwt.  cut  beets  ;  viz.,  we  put  into  the  pits  (the 
same  as  above  referred  to  for  sour-hay)  a  layer  of  ten  cwt. 
cut  sugar-beets  ;  then  we  placed  upon  the  beets  a  layer  of  one 
cwt.  chaff  and  mixed  the  two  layers  well  with  a  fork ;  then 
came  again  a  layer  of  beets,  and  upon  this  layer  came  again  a 
layer  of  chaflF,  and  was  again  properly  mixed,  and  so  on. 
This  manipulation  was  continued  until  a  height  of  six  feet 
over  the  level  of  the  ground.  On  the  top  of  the  fodder-heap 
we  put  rye-straw  bundles,  which  had  been  opened,  and  cov- 
ered the  heap  with  earth,  as  in  the  sour-hay  making." 

I  shall  deposit  with  the  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  a  few  circulars  of  foreign  implement-makers, 
which  may  be  worth  the  perusal  of  interested  parties. 

FRANCIS   H.    APPLETON. 

BnoABFiELDS  Fabm,  West  Peabody,  Essex  County. 


EEPOET  OF  DR.  FRED.  W.  RUSSELL.         555 


THE    USE    OE    WINE    AND    BEER   AT    YIENNA: 

"WITH  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  DRINKING  PLACES. 


BY    FRED.    W.    RUSSELL,    M.   D, 


The  city  of  Vienna  and  its  environs  have  a  population, 
according  to  the  last  census,  of  932,000  souls.  Most  of  the 
elements,  so  diverse  in  blood  and  language,  which  go  to 
make  up  the  Austrian  Empire,  are  fully  represented.  Indeed, 
the  leading  newspaper  of  the  city  claims  that  seven  lan- 
guages are  habitually  spoken  within  her  gates.  One  con- 
stantly sees  on  the  streets  evidences  of  this  diversity,  in  the 
dress  and  social  habits  of  the  people,  yet  so  far  as  the  sub- 
ject of  this  paper  is  concerned,  they  all  seem  to  be  members 
of  one  common  brotherhood. 

There  are  several  pretty  strongly  marked  social  grades 
among  the  citizens.  The  nobility  and  upper  classes  are 
intelligent  and  cultivated,  enjoying  all  the  creature  comforts 
of  good  housing  and  good  feeding,  which  their  wealth  brings 
them.  Another  class,  made  up  of  wealthy  bankers,  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers,  lives  well  and  is  not  exposed  to 
the  wear  and  tear  of  life  more  than  the  same  class  else- 
where. The  next,  or  middle  class,  consists  of  traders, 
agents,  professional  gentlemen,  teachers,  etc.,  whose  incomes 
allow  of  some  degree  of  comfort ;  owing,  however,  to  the 
excessive  rents  within  the  city  they  do  not  live  so  well  as  a 
similar  class  here.  They  are  restricted  to  a  very  small 
amount  of  house  room ;  a  fact  which  has  much  to  do  with 
some  of  the  outdoor  habits  of  the  people.  Still  another 
class  is  made  up  of  workmen,  commissaires,  conductors, 
drivers,  etc.,  whose  wages  range  from  eighty  cents  to  $1.50 
per  day.  Lastly,  there  is  a  great  throng  of  poor  laborers 
(men  and  women)  who  work  on  the  streets,  pump  water, 
lay  brick,  carry  mortar,  and  do  the  lowest  drudgery  of  the 


556  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

city.  "Wages  among  these  last  two  classes  are  much  lower 
than  with  us.  The  women  engaged  in  sweeping  the  streets 
earn  forty  cents  per  clay ;  the  men  about  eighty  cents. 
Good  workmen  get  from  $1  to  $1.50,  with  higher  wages 
where  special  artistic  training  is  required.  Policemen  in  the 
city  receive  $1;  those  at  the  "Exposition"  (a  picked  body 
of  men)  receive  $2.  The  extravagantly  high  rents  in 
Vienna  eat  up  the  earnings  of  the  lower  classes,  and  leave 
them  very  little  surplus  money.  They  do  not  have  ade- 
quate incentives  to  thrift  and  frugality,  while  a  large  pro- 
portion of  them  are  restricted  to  black  bread  and  beer. 

Among  the  people  of  wealth,  of  course,  food  is  varied 
and  abundant.  Beer  is  drank  by  all.  But  wine,  of  the 
finer  qualities,  is  more  commonly  found  on  their  tables,  and 
partaken  of  by  the  whole  family.  Among  the  more  dissi- 
pated young  men  of  this  class  brandy  and  strong  liquors  are 
somewhat  used;  but  society  frowns  upon  excess,  and  intoxi- 
cation is  rare. 

In  the  middle  class  the  use  of  brandy,  rum  and  spirit  is 
not  common.  Light  wines  and  beer  are  the  staple  drinks. 
At  dinner  a  bottle  of  light  wine,  containing  a  very  small 
per  cent,  of  alcohol,  is  usually  taken,  while  at  lunch  and 
often  during  the  day,  a  glass  of  beer  is  relied  upon  to  cool 
and  comfort  the  partaker. 

Among  the  third  rank  of  people  beer  is  the  common  bev- 
erage. At  all  hours  of  the  day  men  turn  aside  from  their 
work  for  a  glass.  Women  pass  you  on  the  streets  with 
mugs  or  pitchers  of  the  foaming  drink.  With  a  glass  or 
two  of  beer,  and  a  piece  of  bread,  the  appetite  is  satisfied 
and  business  resumed. 

With  the  very  lowest  classes  the  use  of  wine  and  beer  is 
restricted.  Wages  are  so  small  that  even  the  cheap  food 
and  clothing  exhaust  nearly  all  they  can  earn.  Conse- 
quently the  very  poor  are  wont  to  use  whiskey  and  rum  in 
small  quantities. 

The  most  striking  feature  of  Vienna  life  is  the  open  and 
universal  use  of  wine  and  beer,  and  the  almost  total  absence 
of  intoxication  on  the  streets  and  in  public  places.  The 
drinking  habits  of  the  Viennese  are  very  closely  related  to 
the  manner  of  life,  the  wages  for  work,   and   the  food   of 


REPORT  OF  DR.  FRED.  W.  RUSSELL.         557 

the  various  classes.  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  an  outline  of 
their  habits,  and  especially  describe  some  of  their  methods 
of  amusement.  Perhaps  the  latter  may  be  found  Avorthy  of 
introduction  into  our  own  country. 

For  the  gratification  of  this  appetite  lavish  provision  is 
made  throughout  the  icity.  There  are  no  saloons  with  a 
green  blind  just  within  the  door,  and  concealed  drunken- 
ness beyond.  No  secrecy  is  thrown  about  the  habit ;  no 
taboo  of  society  rests  upon  it.  Gardens  and  cafes  abound 
on  every  hand.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  sit  at  the  tables, 
with  the  customary  deference  to  the  social  rank  of  each 
saloon,  and  lunch  in  merry  company.  Every  one  is  quiet 
and  sober,  and  during  the  day-time  there  is  no  intoxication 
whatever.  Beer  is  not  guzzled,  to  use  a  coarse  word  for  a 
coarser  fact,  but  is  enjoyed  for  its  own  sake.  A  habit  of 
continued  drinking,  one  glass  after  another,  exhibited  by 
certain  wild  Americans  attending  the  "Exposition,"  was  a 
source  of  constant  wonder  to  the  "beer-boys."  Wine  is 
not  so  commonly  called  for.  Indeed  it  is  rather  rarely  used 
in  the  gardens,  but  is  more  common  in  the  restaurants. 

I.  Rum,  Brandy,  and  Spirit  Shops. 
These  are  found  scattered  here  and  there  about  the  streets, 
but  attracting  no  attention  by  their  elegance  or  obtrusiveness. 
The  most  popular  one  is  situated  opposite  the  Vienna  Ex- 
change. Usually  they  are  small,  dirty  affairs,  with  rows  of 
casks  on  shelves  along  the  wall,  and  a  few  large  bottles  on 
the  counter.  By  law  the  number  is  limited,  and  they  are 
required  to  open  at  4  a.  m.,  and  close  at  10  p.  m.  As  a  rule, 
only  the  very  poorest  classes  visit  them,  the  street  laborers 
and  those  who  do  the  lowest  labor  of  the  city.  Commonly 
in  the  morning,  before  starting  out  for  the  labor  of  the  day, 
these  people  purchase  a  few  cents'  worth  of  liquor  to  use 
during  the  hours  of  work.  When  evening  comes  you  see 
numbers  within  the  shops,  calling  for  and  drinking  very  small 
portions  at  a  time.  A  sum  of  three  or  four  cents  is  all  these 
poor  people  can  afford  to  spend.  Should  one  get  drunk  or 
be  noisy  he  is  at  once  put  out  and  quickly  appropriated  by 
the  police.  If  any  disturbance  arises  the  place  is  peremptorily 
closed.     I  entered  very  many  of  these  establishments,  early 


558  EXPOSITION  AT   VIENNA. 

and  late,  and  seldom  saw  any  signs  of  intoxication.  How- 
ever, by  dint  of  many  questions,  I  found  that  there  is  a  pro- 
portion of  these  people  who  become  so  infatuated  with  the 
pleasures  of  the  cup,  as  to  forego  almost  everything  to  obtain 
the  wished-for  enjoyment.  When  a  country  youth  visits  the 
city  for  a  "  lark,"  he  very  quickly  falls  into  the  clutches  of 
the  law,  and  is  sent  back  to  his  rural  home.  Every  morning 
the  visitor  at  Vienna  sees  several  huge  arks,  without  windows, 
only  a  narrow  door  at  the  end,  filled  by  a  policeman,  lumber- 
ing through  the  gates  toward  the  country.  In  one  of  these 
the  unfortunate  youth  makes  his  triumphal  entry  into  his 
home.  Among  the  denizens  of  the  city,  it  is  a  common  thing 
for  the  wife  to  be  present  when  the  husband  is  paid  off  on  Sat- 
urday night,  and  to  reserve  from  his  wages  whatever  sum  she 
thinks  necessary  for  household  expenses.  The  rest  is  so 
small  an  amount  that  it  does  not  admit  of  an  extended  debauch ; 
it  lasts  until  work  begins.  (In  England,  with  the  increase  of 
wages  during  the  last  few  years,  has  come  increase  of  drunk- 
enness, among  many  trades  the  men  not  getting  at  work  until 
Tuesday  afternoon,  where  previously  the  debauch  was  over 
by  Monday  morning.) 

II.  The  Bar-eooms 
Come  next,  of  various  degrees  of  elegance  and  popularity. 
There  are  more  than  two  hundred  of  them  about  the  city,  all 
outside  the  ramparts,  obliged  to  close  at  12  p.  m.  In  these, 
one  can  obtain  wine  and  beer  with  a  limited  variety  of  food. 
Many  are  simply  furnished  with  coarse  tables  and  chairs, 
while  some  are  quite  noted  for  their  sumptuous  appearance. 
Dreher,  who  has  carried  the  manufacture  of  beer  to  a  high 
state  of  perfection,  has  a  famous  saloon  in  the  old  city.  On 
Saturday  and  Sunday  evenings,  particularly  if  the  weather  ig 
a  little  unpleasant,  these  saloons  are  crowded.  The  visitor 
notices  that  most  of  the  patrons  are  of  the  middle  and  work- 
ing classes,  who  come  to  smoke  and  talk  while  they  enjoy  a 
mug  or  two  of  beer.  There  is  a  peculiar  sociability  among 
the  men,  most  of  whom  are  smoking  big  brier-wood  pipes. 
If  the  evening  is  a  merry  one,  a  song  is  given  occasionally,  or 
a  street  musician  comes  in  to  play  for  awhile.  Here  and 
there  in  the  corners  you  notice  a  reader  asleep  over  his  paper, 


EEPOBT  or  DR.  FRED.  W.  RUSSELL,         659 

and  occasionally  parties  engaged  in  a  game  of  cards.  But 
no  one  is  on  the  floor,  no  one  trying  to  create  a  fuss.  In 
certain  parts  of  the  city  there  are  a  number  of  mongrel  estab- 
lishments, half  bar-room,  half  garden,  where  the  most  aban- 
doned of  both  sexes  congregate.  I  mention  them  now  only 
because  the  strange  absence  of  visible  intoxication  is  notice- 
able, even  among  the  frequenters  of  these  low  and  miserable 
dance-halls.  In  each  a  policeman  is  on  duty,  whose  orders 
are  to  prevent  disturbance  at  all  hazards. 

III.  Cafes. 
At  these  establishments,  which  exceed  two  hundred  in 
number,  one  obtains  tea  and  coifee,  with  eggs,  bread  and 
ices.  Sometimes  a  more  liberal  larder  is  supplied,  but  in 
theory  they  are  limited  to  these  few  articles.  Wine  and  beer 
can  be  had,  but  are  not  very  generally  called  for.  The  larger 
places  are  fitted  up  with  considerable  elegance,  billiard-tables, 
pictures,  and  statues  being  quite  common.  These  places 
remain  open  until  2  and  3  a.  m. 

IV.  Beer-gardens. 
These  are  the  most  prominent  feature  of  Vienna  life. 
Everywhere  throughout  the  city  and  among  the  suburbs, 
these  gardens  are  found,  varying  in  size,  completeness,  and 
social  rank.  In  one  place  a  garden  may  consist  of  a  hand- 
some glass  pagoda,  brilliantly  lighted  at  night,  furnished  with 
chairs,  tables,  surrounded  by  gravel- walks  and  a  few  trees. 
Again,  one  may  consist  of  a  hanging-garden,  which,  filled 
with  trees,  bright  lights,  and  a  merry  company,  is  a  very 
pleasant  sight  on  a  crowded  thoroughfare  at  night.  Often  a 
bit  of  open  land,  where  several  streets  intersect,  gives  room  for 
a  tent  with  a  few  tables  and  chairs.  But  the  beer-garden  j?m' 
excellence  consists  of  a  grove  of  trees  filled  with  round  tables 
and  chairs,  and  the  ground  covered  several  inches  deep  with 
pebbles,  sifted  from  the  bed  of  the  Danube,  an  admirable  pre- 
ventive of  dampness.  Along  the  edge  of  the  grounds  build- 
ings are  erected,  often  of  fanciful  designs,  open  galleries,  out 
of  door  dancing  floors,  and  very  commonly  a  band-stand  in 
the  centre  of  all.  The  covered  buiklinofs  are  in  use  durinsi: 
wet  weather.     Among  certain  grades  of  society  it  is  quite 


560  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

common  to  give  the  wedding-supper  in  one  of  these  halls. 
These  gardens  are  always  very  brilliantly  lighted  at  night, 
and  are  usually  provided  with  a  good  band,  often  both 
stringed  and  brass,  which  performs  with  a  deal  of  fire  and 
precision.  The  greatest  aggregation  of  these  establish- 
ments is  at  the  Prater,  so-called,  the  large  park  of  the  city, 
in  which  the  Exposition  was  held.  Here  are  gathered 
together  beer-gardens  without  number,  restaurants,  theatres, 
menageries,  shootiug-galleries,  a  grand  aquarium,  concert- 
halls,  velocipede-rinks,  "Punch  and  Judys,"  and  all  manner 
of  things  to  attract  and  amuse.  A  uniform  appearance  of 
neatness  and  good  taste  pervades  everything.  Every  variety 
of  amusement  is  provided  in  a  legitimate  and  respectable  way, 
and  every  place  is  thronged  by  respectable  and  orderly 
people. 

In  the  development  of  the  plan  which  is  to  make  of 
Vienna  one  of  the  most  magnificent  cities  of  the  continent,  a 
tract  of  land  was  reserved  for  a  city  park.  This  has  been 
laid  out  in  the  charming  style  of  landscape-gardening  so 
universal  in  Europe,  and  is  a  very  favorite  place  of  resort, 
especially  with  children.  At  one  end  of  the  park  a  large  and- 
handsome  building  has  been  erected,  called  the  Cure  Saloon, 
and  the  open  space  in  front  is  filled  with  the  inevitable 
paraphernalia  for  eating  and  drinking.  Here  one  alwaj^s 
finds  a  throng  of  well-dressed  people  with  their  children. 
The  peculiar  feature  of  the  place,  however,  is  the  fact,  that 
the  various  mineral  waters  of  the  country  are  on  sale,  and 
their  genuineness  is  provided  for  by  a  government  inspector. 

Another  favorite  place  of  resort  is  the  People's  Garden, 
nearly  in  front  of  the  palace  of  the  emperor.  In  summer  the 
grounds  are  filled  with  the  most  exquisite  beds  of  flowers, 
arranged  Avith  fine  taste.  But  what  gives  it  a  peculiar  char- 
acter, is  the  fact  that  on  certain  evenings  in  the,  week, 
Strauss,  either  Johann  or  Edward,  gives  a  concert  here.  A 
portion  of  the  garden  is  railed  off"  at  night  by  a  light  ropc- 
uetting,  and  within  the  reserved  space  stands  a  permanent 
semi-circular  building  and  two  orchestral  stands.  Very  num- 
erous gas-jets  are  distributed  among  the  trees  where  the 
chairs  and  tables  are  crowded  thickly  together.  On  evenings 
of  great  days  a  military  band  occuj)ies  one  stand,  and  Strauss, 


REPORT    OF    DR.    FRED.    W.    RUSSELL.  561 

with  his  strings,  the  other.  During  the  Exposition  season 
an  admission  fee  of  seventy-five  cents  was  charged,  but  the 
concerts  were  always  thronged  with  a  nicely-dressed  and  well- 
behaved  company,  promenading  about  the  walks,  or  sitting 
at  the  tables  quafiing  beer  and  eating  ices,  while  the  passionate 
music  rose  and  fell  on  the  evening  air.  Outside  in  the  gar- 
den, often,  thousands  of  people  were  quietly  listening,  with 
no  sign  of  disorder,  rowdyism  or  drunkenness. 

Near  Schonbrunn,  a  village  a  few  miles  from  the  city, 
where  the  emperor  has  a  summer-palace,  is  the  largest  and 
most  popular  beer-garden  of  all.  Its  proprietor,  Mr.  Schwen- 
der,  is  commonly  spoken  off  as  a  public  benefactor,  for 
having  established  so  beautiful  a  palace  of  amusement.  He 
calls  it  the  New  World.  It  embraces  a  large  amount  of  space, 
filled  with  walks  and  beds  of  flowers,  with  buildings  for 
various  uses,  a  theatre,  shooting-galleries,  and  a  semi-circular 
band-stand,  which  can  accommodate  singers  or  musicians  by 
the  thousand.  In  honor  of  great  fete-days  he  provides  en- 
larged entertainment.  One  evening  he  massed  twelve  of  the 
best  military  bands  stationed  about  the  city,  making  a  total 
of  over  700  performers,  and  also  provided  an  extra  dramatic 
entertainment,  the  whole  closing  with  fireworks.  By  7  p.  m. 
the  grounds  were  flooded  with  light  from  the  gas-jets,  arranged 
in  cones,  wreaths,  and  festoons,  and  were  crowded  with  merry 
people.  The  neat,  unostentatious  dress  of  the  Austrian 
officers  appeared  on  every  hand.  Tall  orderlies,  with  spur 
and  clanking  sword,  stalked  about  the  walks.  Whole  families 
were  here,  all  eating,  drinking,  chatting,  and  listening  to  the 
music  which  the  monster  band  rendered  most  charmingly. 
Here  were  several  thousand  people,  but  not  a  noisy  word  nor 
an  ungracious  action  during  the  evening.  As  the  crowd  hur 
ried  for  the  cars  and  omnibuses,  it  certainly  was  unexampled 
for  order  and  good  nature. 

During  the  day  the  gardens  are  not  very  numerously  vis- 
ited. But  as  the  late  summer  afternoon  comes  on  the  citi- 
zens begin  to  wend  their  way  toward  the  suburbs,  where  the 
gardens  do  most  abound.  On  Sundays,  for  instance,  after 
attending  church  in  the  forenoon,  the  people  fairly  load  down 
every  means  of  conveyance  toward  their  favorite  resorts. 
After  4  p.  m.  of  that  day  the  theatres,  circuses,  and  similar 
71 


562  EXPOSITION    AT   VIENNA. 

places  of  amusement  are  allowed  to  open.  The  German  of  the 
middle  class  and  the  well-to-do  laborer  take  wife  and  family 
and  go  out  to  some  cool,  shady  retreat.  Every  garden  is  filled 
with  family  groups',  sitting  at  the  tables,  with  merry  children 
running  about  from  place  to  place.  Here,  listening  to  good 
music  splendidly  played,  they  laugh  and  chat  with  neighbors 
and  friends,  while  they  leisurely  sip  from  the  tall  glasses  of 
white-capped  beer.  Later  they  wend  their  way  homeward, 
having  passed  an  eveniug  of  simple,  hearty  enjoyment,  find- 
ing at  the  same  time  relaxation  and  fresh  air.  On  some 
evenings  of  the  last  summer  150,000  people  were  among  the 
gardens  at  the  Prater. 

Wandering  here  and  there  for  months,  visiting  every 
garden  and  place  of  amusement,  I  saw  not  one  intoxicated 
person.  The  wonder  continually  grew.  It  was  impossible 
to  believe  the  fact,  yet  such  was  the  actual  case  in  my 
experience. 

V. — Esterhazy's  Wine-cellar. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  mention  one  of  the  peculiar 
institutions  of  the  city,  known  as  Esterhazy's  Wine-cellar. 

Turning  ofi"  from  the  Graben,  a  leading  street  of  the  old 
city,  a  few  steps  bring  one  to  a  narrow  door,  down  a  little 
alley.  Entering,  you  find  yourself  at  the  head  of  a  flight  of 
narrow  stone  steps  leading  down  into  the  darkness.  Once 
safely  arrived  at  the  foot,  you  are  in  a  range  of  small,  arched 
cellars,  irregularly  connected  together,  with  rows  of  plank 
benches  and  plain  chairs  along  the  sides,  and  a  ledge  just 
above  to  support  the  glasses.  In  one  small  nook  a  woman 
retails  sausages  and  cheese,  behind  a  dirty  candle  and  pile  of 
black  bread.  A  few  flaring  lamps  give  an  uncertain  light 
through  the  gloom.  Every  bench  is  occupied,  the  air  is 
thick  with  smoke  pouring  from  the  tobacco-pipes.  At  one 
end  an  extemporaneous  bar  is  established,  over  which  active 
boys  dispense  the  liquors  called  for,  and  behind  which  an 
interminable  and  mysterious  range  of  cellars  seem  to  stretch 
ofi"  into  the  darkness.  A  clerk  records  each  order  in  a  huge 
ledger  before  him.  In  these  subterranean  cellars  are  gath- 
ered a  strano^e  agofre oration  of  tono'ues  and  nationalities.  The 
noise  is  a  perfect  babel  of  sounds,  yet  you  rarely  find  any 


REPORT  OF  DR.  FRED.  W.  RUSSELL.  563 

person  intoxicated.  Many  are  singing,  but  not  noisily. 
Girls  and  boys  come  in  constantly  with  bottles  and  pitchers 
for  the  liquor.  A  placard  on  the  wall  announces  the  names 
and  prices  of  the  wines  :  Weisser  ruster  Wein,  23  k.  ;  Weisser 
badacsdner,  17  k.  ;  rother  sexander  12  to  13  k.  (A  kreutzer 
may  be  considered  a  half  cent.)  These  are  Hungarian  wines, 
of  a  strono;er  character  than  those  in  common  use  among:  the 
Viennese. 

YI. — HocHSTER  Henriger. 
It  would  be  pleasant  to  say  that  nothing  worse  than  the 
previous  showing  in  relation  to  this  subject  existed  in  Vienna, 
but  it  is  too  true  that  intoxication  can  be  found  if  one  seeks 
in  the  right  place  for  it.  A  place  of  this  character  is  called  a 
"  Hbchster  Henriger,"  and  is  marked  by  a  bunch  of  grape-vine 
leaves  or  a  pine-branch  over  the  door.  Entering  the  largest 
one  of  the  city,  consisting  of  a  series  of  large  halls  around  a 
garden,  with  planks  laid  down  for  out-door  dancing,  with 
dancing-halls,  music-rooms,  and  banquet-rooms,  here  and 
there,  you  come  at  once  into  a  very  large  room,  exceedingly 
brilliant  with  gas,  and  filled  with  the  noise  of  two  bands  and 
the  clinking  of  innumerable  glasses.  Here  you  find  a  great 
company  gathered,  often  numbering  four  hundred, — babes  in 
arms,  children,  men  and  women.  Every  table  is  crowded, 
everybody  drinking,  smoking,  singing,  beating  out  the  time 
on  their  glasses,  and  having  the  wildest  time  imaginable.  In 
one  group  I  saw  once  three  couples,  and  on  their  table  were 
sixteen  empty  wine  and  beer-bottles.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  all  in  that  party  were  intoxicated.  Here  sit  young  men 
and  girls  in  very  close  proximity,  mostly  coarse  in  dress  and 
features.  They  are  the  servant  girls,  the  diensters,  the  com- 
missaires,  the  wild  and  reckless  of  the  city.  Moravian  girls, 
with  curious  black  turbans  on  their  heads,  serve  the  guests 
with  wine  and  beer.  The  wine  is  that  of  the  last  making, 
not  yet  done  fermenting.  It  is  pleasant  to  the  taste,  but 
quickly  mounts  to  the  brain.  One  notices  in  these  companies 
many  women  with  babes  in  their  arms.  They  are  one  of  the 
curious  features  of  Vienna  life,  which  may  be  appreciated 
when  I  say  that  the  illegitimate  births  of  the  city  are  some- 
times thirty-three  per  cent,  of  the  whole.     These  people  find 


564  EXPOSITION    AT    VIENNA. 

their  hio;hest  relaxation  in  the  "  Hochster  Henrio;er."  What 
must  be  the  morals  of  children  habituated  to  such  scenes  ! 
Again,  an  unexpected  fact  attracts  attention.  You  see  no  one 
drunk  upon  the  floor.  Nobody  is  wrangling  with  his  com- 
panions. Uproarious  hilarity  pervades  all  the  people  present. 
As  the  clocks  strike  twelve  a  policeman  puts  his  head  in  and 
announces  that  the  festivities  of  the  evening  are  over.  Such 
extravagant  hugging  and  kissing  as  then  goes  on  is  a  sight  to 
see ;  but  each  gets  hold  of  his  or  her  companion,  and  they 
wander  ofi",  all  quite  unsteady,  but  yet  well  able  to  proceed. 

Such  are  some  of  the  places  where  the  Viennese  obtain 
their  liquors,  and  their  customary  ways  of  drinking. 

Some  Effects  upon  the  People. 

The  constant  and  free  use  of  beer  and  wine  must  have 
some  influence  upon  the  physical  well-being  of  the  Vienna 
people.  You  notice,  as  men  and  women  sit  drinking  in  the 
gardens  in  company,  that  their  eyes  become  red  and  full  of 
tears ;  the  face  flushes  and  often  gets  purple,  and  a  certain 
stupidity  or  sleepiness  comes  over  all.  Often  one  is  irresist- 
ibly inclined  to  sleep  after  two  or  three  glasses.  Everywhere 
throughout  the  city  are  evidences  of  this  sleepiness.  Hack- 
men  drop  ofi"  to  sleep  on  their  coaches,  and  commissaires  are 
curled  up  on  the  door-steps  of  churches.  Examining  photo- 
graphs of  Vienna  people  there  is  easily  recognized  a  universal 
thick  look  about  the  eyes,  as  if  the  brain  was  doing  its  work 
under  a  clog.     Not  that  all  cases  display  such  strong  efiects. 

Taking  the  mass  of  the  people  together,  one  seems  safe  in 
saying  that  the  mental  acumen  and  celerity  of  action  among 
these  beer-drinkers  does  not  equal  our  own.  Yet  the  beer 
satisfies  a  want  of  the  system.  The  water  is  unfit  to  drink, 
and  the  cooking  full  of  grease  and  onions.  The  pleasant  bit- 
ter of  the  beer  corrects  this  unpleasant  feature  of  their  food. 
Where  the  beer  is  made  an  article  of  food  more  than  the 
means  for  the  gratification  of  an  appetite,  it  has  scarcely  any 
unfavorable  effects.  Many  classes  of  the  city  do  not  taste  of 
meat  by  the  month  together.  To  them  a  few  cents  worth  of 
beer  is  a  positive  addition  to  their  food. 

It  is  well  known  that  German  women  are  often  large  and 
stout.     Many  influences  conduce  to  bring  about  this  result. 


EEPORT   OF   DR.    FRED.    W.    RUSSELL.  565 

Many  of  the  men  are  portly  and  dignified.  Hackmen  are 
gross.  They  are  the  hardest  drinkers  of  the  city.  Medical 
men  claim  a  great  exemption  from  dyspepsia  among  the  beer- 
takers.  Certainly  the  pale  face  of  the  dyspeptic  was  not 
common  on  the  streets.  Rotund  ruddy  faces  predominated. 
Among  the  young  soldiers,  of  whom  there  were  above  twent}^- 
five  thousand  about  the  city,  there  was  a  bronzed  healthy  look 
quite  refreshing  to  see.  They  were  allowed  remarkable  free- 
dom about  the  city,  but,  among  the  hundreds  on  the  street 
daily,  I  uever  saw  one  intoxicated.  This  liberal  use  of  beer 
throws  increased  labor  on  the  kidneys,  which  accounts  for 
certain  unpleasant  features  of  life  in  continental  cities. 

The  use  of  wine  is  far  more  common  than  that  of  brandy, 
rum,  aild  whiskey.  At  the  restaurants  a  large  variety  of 
brands  is  offered  to  the  visitor.  'The  best  Austrian  wines 
are  considered  to  be  the  Gumpoldskirchen,  Bisamberg,  and 
Voslau,  and  these  are  drank  in  immense  quantities.  They 
are  not  unlike  a  Hock  wine,  and  contain  a  very  small  per 
cent,  of  alcohol  (Hock  wines  contain  from  11.93  per  cent,  to 
14.37  per  cent,  of  alcohol).  They  are  furnished,  too,  at  a 
very  low  price. 

The  Hungarian  wines,  which  have  been  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  Esterhazy  wine-cellar,  are  much  stronger. 
I  find  a  curious  statement  in  a  Vienna  publication,  that  these 
wines  are  too  strong  for  the  climate  of  the  city,  though  whole- 
some in  Hungary ;  as  if  the  people  did  not  care  for  the  intox- 
icating properties  of  their  drink. 

The  beer  is  of  two  kinds;  the  Vienna  a  coarser  quality, 
and  the  Pillsner,  so-called,  originated,  I  believe,  in  Bohemia. 
This  Vienna  beer  is  about  the  same  in  quality  as  the  Bavarian 
or  Munich  beer,  but  is  claimed  to  be  superior.  Immense 
quantities  of  it  are  now  manufactured  for  export,  Dreher 
being  the  most  prominent  manufacturer.  The  Pillsner  beer 
is  comparatively  a  new  article,  being  an  attempt  to  make  a 
lighter,  less  intoxicating  beverage.  It  is  slightly  more  costly, 
of  a  lighter  color,  and  more  limpid,  and  does  not  wear  so  well 
in  its  use  as  Vienna  beer.  The  latter  seems  to  contain  just 
the  elements  needed  with  the  peculiar  food  of  the  people, 
supplied  in  a  cheap,  non-intoxicating  form.  This  brand  costs 
about  four  cents  a  seitl  or  glass,  and  Pillsner  five  cents. 


566  EXPOSITION   AT   VIENNA. 

A  very  wide  field  is  open  in  the  discussion  of  the  medical 
bearings  of  the  question.  I  made  attempts  to  obtain  statis- 
tics concerning  the  crimes  committed  in  the  city  as  the  result 
of  intoxication,  but'  I  could  obtain  no  real  information.  I 
tried,  also,  to  obtain  the  death  records,  to  see  what  propor- 
tion of  deaths  resulted  from  causes  depending  in  any  degree 
upon  the  use  of  wine  and  beer.  But  to  obtain  valuable 
records  will  require  a  vast  amount  of  long-continued  and 
accurate  research.  I  had  interviews  with  a  number  of  the 
leading  physicians  of  Vienna,  and  found,  in  reply  to  questions, 
that,  in  their  opinion,  no  effect  upon  the  mortuary  statistics 
is  produced  by  the  drinking  habits  of  the  people. 

Dr.  Sigmund,  the  eminent  syphilologist  and  alienist,  said 
there  was  no  predominance  of  diseases  of  the  liver  and  kid- 
neys ;  that  there  was  a  very  small  proportion  of  patients  in 
the  insane  asylum  from  the  effects  of  alcohol.  Dr.  Grunfeld, 
assistant  in  the  syphilitic  wards  of  Dr.  Sigmund,  said  there 
was  not  an  unusual  amount  of  Bright's  disease,  but  that  occa- 
sional cases  of  delirium  tremens  were  received  into  hospital. 
Dr.  Neumann,  author  of  a  well-known  work  on  skin  diseases, 
agreed  substantially  with  the  above  statements.  He  had 
studied  in  the  hospitals  of  Paris  and  other  continental  cities, 
and  was  of  the  decided  opinion  that  there  was  less  of  liver  and 
kidney  disease  in  Vienna  than  in  those  cities.  Mr.  Holmes, 
an  American  engineer  and  contractor,  and  well  known  through 
England  and  on  the  continent,  informs  me  that  he  had  never 
seen  so  much  drunkenness  anywhere  as  in  some  districts  in 
Scotland.  He  remarked  again  and  again  upon  the  marked 
sobriety  of  Vienna. 

There  seems  to  be  in  Vienna  unrestrained  use  of  wine  and 
beer,  with  almost  complete  absence  of  public  intoxication. 
Law  is  rigidly  enforced,  and  some  of  the  unpleasant  results 
of  this  freedom  are  perhaps  thereby  restrained.  The  people, 
however,  seem  to  use  these  liquors  as  food,  more  than  as 
means  for  dissipation. 

FRED.   W.   RUSSELL,   M.   D. 

WiNCHENDON  MASS.,  April  2,  1874. 


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